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Post by sadie1263 on Jun 7, 2011 18:31:48 GMT
Australia’s UFO files mysteriously disappear In what sounds like a plot from a science fiction film, it seems that the bulk of the Australian government’s X-Files have mysteriously disappeared. The department of defence has been unable to find a host of records relating to UFO sightings that were collected over several decades. The disappearance of the documents came to light when the military received a freedom of information (FOI) request from the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper asking for any documents that mentioned sightings of UFOs or “extraterrestrial organisms” in Australia. The request came after the British government released a dossier of thousands of documents relating to unidentified flying objects. However, after two months of searching the relevant archives, the department said that the documents could not be found. A spokesman said it was likely that some of the files had been destroyed. “Our office examined past FOI requests which related to UFOs and discovered that many of the files had been destroyed, as is normal administrative procedure,” it said in a statement. In fact, just one file from the entire cache could be located. That related to “UFOs/Strange Occurrences and Phenomena in Woomera”, a military weapons testing range in the outback. The lone file detailed a sketchy series of sightings from around the country and overseas, including people living in towns near Woomera, in South Australia. www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8561250/Australias-UFO-files-mysteriously-disappear.html
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Post by Big Lin on Jun 7, 2011 20:13:11 GMT
Maybe the aliens have stolen them!
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Post by Liberator on Jun 12, 2011 2:59:17 GMT
This is not necessarily as sinister as it appears, since the link from this week's Conspiracy Journal (also back to the Telegraph) suggests that they had just been moved: - THEY WERE HERE JUST A MINUTE AGO DEPARTMENT -
Australia's UFO Files Mysteriously Disappear
In what sounds like a plot from a science fiction film, it seems that the bulk of the Australian government’s X-Files have mysteriously disappeared.
The department of defence has been unable to find a host of records relating to UFO sightings that were collected over several decades.
The disappearance of the documents came to light when the military received a freedom of information (FOI) request from the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper asking for any documents that mentioned sightings of UFOs or “extraterrestrial organisms” in Australia.
The request came after the British government released a dossier of thousands of documents relating to unidentified flying objects.
However, after two months of searching the relevant archives, the department said that the documents could not be found.
A spokesman said it was likely that some of the files had been destroyed.
“Our office examined past FOI requests which related to UFOs and discovered that many of the files had been destroyed, as is normal administrative procedure,” it said in a statement.
In fact, just one file from the entire cache could be located. That related to “UFOs/Strange Occurrences and Phenomena in Woomera”, a military weapons testing range in the outback.
The lone file detailed a sketchy series of sightings from around the country and overseas, including people living in towns near Woomera, in South Australia.
Australia’s military decided to stop taking UFO sighting reports in late 2000, asking members of the public to report incidents to police instead.
UFO experts in Australia believe that the military knowingly shredded the documents.
Bill Chalker, author of The Oz Files, said that in 2003 eight years-worth of documents relating to UFO sightings might have been destroyed — not to cover up a shocking discovery of alien life, but as part of department “housekeeping”.
“But it does seem strange that Australia would be destroying these files while England and America was putting theirs online and making them public,” he said.
Chalker also suggested that it could not have been a very thorough search, simply because a large part of the "missing files" are in fact located at the Canberra NAA facility. Indeed many of them are available to be "found" via anybody's computer internet search of the NAA site via digital copies.
Some files are indeed missing but these seem to be due to shortsighted "house cleaning" activities by the DOD. The decision to destroy UFO (or UAS) files is completely out of step with equivalent organisations in other countries such as Britain and France.
"Fortunately many of the impressive cases that were in the destroyed files were preserved by researchers like myself," said Chalker. "I copied many of these files during my research visits to the Russell Offices of the Department of Defence during the period 1982 and 1984."
Chalker offered one tip: "A computer search of the NAA records is best served by using the word 'Flying saucers.' Many of these file series can be read at your leisure via the digitised versions of the same files."
So the case of the "missing" Australian DOD "X-Files" has been solved. In fact the majority of the files were never "lost" just not found by the DOD FOI official who did not know the history of the DOD's relationship with the UFO "problem." Only a little research would have been needed to determine where the files actually were.
On Chalkers website: The Oz Files, he comments: "The bigger question is why the Department of Defence decided to destroy some of their UFO files, for what seems to be little more reason than house cleaning activities. Back in 1984 I directed a letter to the Director of Air Force Intelligence stating that the DOD UFO/UAS files should be preserved for posterity because of their value to UFO researchers, historians, and to many other disciplines. When the National Archives started storing many of these files, and ultimately digitising some of them I felt that preservation of the files was reasonably assured. Problem is you can't always count on efficient follow through. Incredibly myopic decisions were made within DOD around 2004 to destroy some of the UFO files still present in the DOD archives. The FOI decision maker at that time was Group Captain G. MacDonald, Director of Co-ordination - Air Force. More than 8 years of sighting files from 1974 to 1982 appear to have been destroyed. I hope that the process was not continued to any further extent. That is a matter that needs to be further examined. Fortunately a great deal of the DOD UFO files exist via their presence in the National Archives."
Doug Moffatt, spokesman for UFO Research New South Wales, said questions needed to be asked.
“It would be interesting to know if they have throw anything else out. If not, it starts looking dodgy.”
Source: Telegraph (UK) www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/8561250/Australias-UFO-files-mysteriously-disappear.html
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