A Queensland Senate candidate believes gender diversification has "undermined" the Australian Defence Force, claiming there was "something primitive and perverse about a nation that believes putting its daughters into combat roles and harm's way is a good idea".

Just a day after Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull identified himself as a feminist, a tag women in his own party have shied from, former Coalition candidate Rod McGarvie, who abandoned the LNP for the more hardline conservative Family First party, said diversity was "hurting our defence".

The ADF has set gender targets to boost the number of women serving in the defence force. Credit:Shaun Gladwell

The ADF has set gender targets in an effort to boost the number of serving women, with the ban on women taking up combat roles lifted in 2013, following a series of reviews and a Federal government decision.

Since then, women have been transitioning to frontline roles in a staged process under a five-year plan, with special forces positions opened to women in 2014.