Former Soldier Joins the Election Race, Sounds Alarm on CCP Warship Threat

Former navy diver John Armfield has thrown his hat in the ring for the Gold Coast electorate of Fadden, as he explains his passions and reasons for running.

Former navy clearance diver and now-candidate for the People First Party, John Armfield. Courtesy of John Armfield

There’s a new candidate on the block in the Gold Coast electorate of Fadden—a former serviceman who is not only concerned about Australia’s defence against the CCP threat, but also the future of the country’s children.

John Armfield is a former navy diver in the Royal Australian Navy who specialised in clearing underwater explosives.

Having served his country, Armfield, issued a stark warning about Chinese naval warships visiting the country uninvited in recent weeks.

“My time in the military taught me that [Australian Defence Force or ADF] personnel only know a fraction of the truth, those on operations know slightly more, and the civilians at home are being lied to when situations can negatively impact ADF or government reputations,” he told The Epoch Times.

“I can tell you ... a deployment of three Chinese ships is what we see, the greater threat is what is under water, and how many,” he said.

“Australia does not have the submarine capacity to go toe-to-toe with China, so why escalate a situation you cannot win at the moment.”

A robust relationship with the United States is something he believes is necessary for Australia.

Over the last few weeks, a flotilla of three Chinese naval vessels circumnavigated Australia and also held surprise live-fire exercises in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand—disrupting 49 commercial airline flights.

More recently, an Antarctic research vessel from China also made its way along the south coast of the country for an unannounced reason.

Former navy diver and now-People First Party political candidate John Armfield firing his weapon during his time in service. Courtesy of John Armfield

Armfield also had something to say about the handling of Australia-China ties.

In 2022, a Liberal Party internal review found the Chinese-Australian community had apparently turned against the party because of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s tough stance on Beijing.

Meanwhile, current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has also been criticised for his softer stance towards the CCP.

“Australia can’t have it both ways,” Armfield said.

“I believe Australia has lost its way. We used to know what this nation stood for. We need leadership that outlines who we are and what we stand for.”

The safe Liberal National Party seat of Fadden covers Coomera, Labrador, Ormeau, Pimpama, and Runaway Bay.

Armfield is running for Senator Gerard Rennick’s People First Party. He is a married father of two boys and long-time Gold Coast local.

Learn from Overseas on How to Leverage Our Energy Abundance

Armfield is backing stronger cost of living measures, but also says more can be done to generate more energy to lower costs.

He points to the country’s natural resources like coal, gas, uranium, rare earths, solar, and wind, noting that Australia could learn from other countries.

The Emirates does not have personal income tax, and also provides cheap energy, while Norway is a majority shareholder in energy firm Equinor and reinvests much of the profits into its US$1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund.

“Australia has given away all and any rights, not only to our energy resources, but our ports and farmland,” Armfield said.

“We export our gas, then pay world prices to buy it back.

“We let foreign companies drain our wealth, and we sold off our essential services like energy, so governments and politicians could claim to have a surplus and pay down their debt. Again, without any accountability.”

Concerns About Ideology in Schooling

Education is also passion topic for Armfield, who is concerned about Australian children falling behind.

He quoted a 2024 Gratton Institute report that found one-third of Australian children were struggling with reading and writing, and students who fell behind were more likely to be unemployed or jailed.

The Institute estimates that this is costing Australia $40 billion in productivity.

Armfield said more needed to be done to improve results, but he also expressed concern about the prevalence of ideology in learning rather than the basics.

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority has proposed to integrate Indigenous dance and storytelling into math classes.

“I just want my children to learn English, math, science, history, geography, health and physical education,” Armfield said.

Chaplains Could Play a Greater Role for Servicepeople

And unsurprisingly, Armfield wants to help the cause of Australia’s veterans.

The subject is particularly close to Armfield who testified at the recent veterans inquiry, and whose brother (a former serviceman) committed suicide.

However, Armfield believes counselling and spiritual guidance has a great role to play.

“As a petty officer, whenever one of my men was acting out of norm, I would engage the chaplain to intervene and provide support,” Armfield said.

“There is a great saying within military forces, ‘Everyone is an atheist until they find themselves in a foxhole.’

“Unlike most professions, ADF combat personnel will find themselves facing their mortality and this is even more so after a colleague’s suicide.”

Armfield is running for the seat of Fadden, alongside Stewart Brooker (independent), Cameron Caldwell (Coalition), Letitia Del Febbro (Labor), Nick Muir (One Nation), Nathan O'Brien (Family First), Dennis Pukallus (Citizens Party), and Andrew Stimson (Greens).

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