The Commonwealth’s move to commence legal action against 3M over its alleged failure to disclose the full magnitude of the environmental risks its PFAS products could cause is a significant step in Australia’s legal history.

For Gregory Semple however, a former aquaculture operator whose once thriving business has been devastated by PFAS contamination, the announcement highlights the inconsistency in the Government’s handling of his own long-running legal action against the Commonwealth.

Mr Semple purchased Murray Cod Hatcheries in Wagga Wagga in 1996 where he also resides. He spent years observing and monitoring increasing levels of deformities and a marked decline in reproduction rates across his business.

Out of exasperation Mr Semple conducted experiments and water tests. Still, the problem remained a mystery for breeding season after breeding season. The egg batch size of fish on the hatchery reduced seasonally, until reproduction ceased and the mature fishes died prematurely.

Toxicity trials by Mr Semple undertaken in 2017 showed the larvae of some fish species could no longer survive beyond one week in the hatchery bore water and some of the ponds.

Mr Semple recorded increasing fish production problems for two decades before Defence tested for PFAS chemicals and informed him of the results in July 2017. His water supply was riddled with PFAS.

Mr Semple said the PFAS levels recorded on his property from Defence sampling are extremely high. Based on 2025 health-based guidelines Mr Semple’s bore water has tested up to 237 times higher than the Australian drinking water safety standard whilst surface water on his property has tested up to 880 times higher than the Australian drinking water safety standard. Tests on fish flesh also identified PFAS levels at least 103 times the FSANZ (Food Standards Australia and New Zealand) trigger point for investigation. Urgent warnings were belatedly given by Defence against home consumption of fish, crayfish, vegetables, fruit, eggs and livestock produced on the property.

Mr Semple has since discovered the dangers of firefighting foams on aquatic organisms had already been well established from the 1970s onwards, and PFAS chemical toxicity from the late 1970s to 2000. An International PFAS warning had been released by the OECD by 2002. RAAF Base Wagga stopped using their bores for potable water in the early 2000s and switched to the town supply. A supply now under threat.

PFAS are called forever chemicals due to their resistance to breakdown and known persistence in nature. Without any viable option to decontaminate the property or source uncontaminated bulk water supplies, Mr Semple has, since 2018, been forced to give up aquaculture and other farming pursuits on his property. He has been in limbo ever since.

In 2024 Mr Semple commenced a claim against the Commonwealth in the NSW Supreme Court for compensation on account of the extensive personal and business losses he has suffered. After close to two years of litigation he feels no closer to being able to move forward with his life.

“I have spent almost nine years trying to get recognition and accountability from the Commonwealth for the losses I’ve experienced. I’ve provided thousands of documents, engaged independent experts to report on my losses and provided extensive evidence to support my case. Two earlier mediations have failed, and my case is now being prepared for trial,” said Mr Semple.

Maddens Lawyers Principal Lawyer, Kathryn Emeny, who represents Mr Semple says the contrast between the Commonwealth’s action against 3M and its slow response to affected landholders is stark. “On the one hand the Commonwealth is pursuing a claim against 3M which in part relates to future expenses it expects to incur for investigating and managing PFAS contamination. On the other, the Commonwealth denies that it is in anyway responsible for the losses Mr Semple has suffered and has not paid him a cent. The inconsistency is hard to ignore.

“Assistant Minister for Defence Mr Khalil is right, people affected by PFAS contamination, including Mr Semple, ‘need action’. That action is overdue. I invite Mr Khalil to visit Mr Semple’s property to see firsthand the devastation that has been caused. He needs to be compensated fairly and promptly, said Ms Emeny”

Murray Cod Hatcheries is located approximately 2 kilometres north-west of the Wagga Wagga RAAF base. It is alleged that PFAS contaminated surface water and ground water from the Wagga Wagga RAAF base flows onto Mr Semple’s property including through a system of stormwater drains that discharge water to a nearby wetland.

Professor Ian Rae, an expert on chemicals in the environment at the University of Melbourne previously noted Mr Semple’s was the worst case of damage caused by PFAS contamination that he had seen across Australia.