Clive Palmer has sacked a United Australia Party candidate who peddled conspiracy theories about the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Tony Pecora, who was running for the seat of Melbourne, claimed the 2001 attacks which killed almost 3,000 people could have been the work of "globalist forces" and suggested "the whole story doesn't make sense".
After being confronted with his comments, a spokesperson for Mr Palmer confirmed to Nine's The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age the candidate had been disendorsed.In an earlier interview with the newspapers, Mr Pecora said "further investigation needs to be done" around the 9/11 attacks.
Federal Leader of the United Australia Party Clive Palmer. Source: AAP
The former candidate reportedly questioned how World Trade Centre building seven collapsed without being directly hit by an airplane.
"It is unprecedented in the history of modern construction for a building just to fall down like that at freefall speed," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
But experts have debunked this so-called "controlled demolition" conspiracy theory.
Mr Pecora went on to suggest that "layers" of the US government may have been involved.
"You have sections of the US government that killed JFK ... You have sections of the US government that maybe do not have the US Constitution as their sole focus. Maybe they are working alongside globalist forces.""If you look at the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank syndicate and why they are pushing the idea of climate change so strongly, it's because having a global-based carbon taxation system is one of the most effective ways of centralising financial power," he added.
The September 11 attacks. Source: AAP
There are few details about Mr Pecora on Mr Palmer's United Australia Party website.
"In 2008, Tony Pecora and a business partner founded The Green Power Company, responsible for installing thousands of solar power systems in Australia and the South Pacific," it states.
"In 2016, he opened Solar Fiji. He believe [sic] that freedom, liberty and strength are the defining principles on which all great civilizations are built."