Mabon ap Gwynfor: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and I move formally amendment 2, in the name of Siân Gwenllian. Could I start by thanking Sam Rowlands for taking the time available to present the motion, and not only to present the motion but also taking some of the time allocated to him to explain the thrust of the motion? It's regrettable, of course, that the short time given to such debates has to be spent...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Of course, Janet.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: No, I can't answer the question—I'll just wait for the interpretation—I can't answer that question, I'm afraid, Janet, because it wasn't clear what the purpose of the wording of the motion was. I didn't understand the motion, so I can't answer that question. However, if I have understood the explanation that has been given, then the motion as it has been submitted, and the motion that...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Go for it.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Thank you, Janet, for the intervention, but that's not what's written in the motion, and that's not what we'll be voting on. I thank Janet for that, but, for that reason, we should vote against this motion. So, we've submitted our own amendment, and we've discussed the amendment before, so I won't take the time now to discuss the amendment further today, but I hope that you will support the...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Thank you very much, Llywydd, and I've agreed to give some time to Carolyn Thomas, Sam Rowlands and Mike Hedges to contribute to this debate also. Now, there are many reasons given in favour of nuclear energy, and on the surface, they can be convincing, but look a little deeper and you will see that these arguments are very superficial indeed. Some say that nuclear energy is needed to provide...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Some talk about following Finland and burying the waste miles underground, covering it with clay. But that's not a long-term solution. They tried to bury the tailings of the Eldorado company's uranium plants in Ontario, with a type of clay 40 years ago, but they failed, and over 100 megatonnes of radioactive waste are spread over 1,000 hectares of land there still. The United States used the...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: 'Nuclear reactor faced meltdown. Wylfa power station in Anglesey.'
Mabon ap Gwynfor: And that was after the grab fell into the core of one of the reactors without anyone noticing for hours. We have to count ourselves very lucky indeed. Now, climate change is the other argument for justifying nuclear. Climate change is happening before our eyes, and we must take urgent steps to reverse the damage done. We have seven years only in order to prevent the world from warming by two...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: 'Developing a UK SMR also would help Rolls-Royce maintain UK capabilities for the country's military nuclear naval programme'.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Or, these are the words from a Rolls-Royce SMR promotional leaflet:
Mabon ap Gwynfor: 'One particular application for deployment of the talent developed through the UK SMR programme would be in the ongoing maintenance of the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent.'
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Or what about the words of UK Government Ministers when discussing their nuclear policy?
Mabon ap Gwynfor: 'The government will work with the sector to enable bespoke programmes that support the transitioning between sectors, including civil and defence'.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: The state's priority is to have a constant flow of talent going into the nuclear sector in order to be able to maintain its new Dreadnought programme on the banks of the Clyde, and to be able to provide nuclear ships for the AUKUS pact. And, don't forget that Boris Johnson lifted the cap on the number of nuclear weapons here, increasing from 160 to 240. The military budget is not big enough...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Minister, I'd like to ask for a statement on support for veterans of atomic bomb testing, please, as 2022 marks the plutonium jubilee, 70 years since the first UK atomic bomb tests. Since then, scores of the people that participated in those tests—military veterans, scientists, indigenous peoples and their families—have suffered immeasurably. Not one of those people have been given the...
Mabon ap Gwynfor: I want to start my contribution by mentioning housing. Saturday was world Human Rights Day, and we must ensure that everyone in Wales has a roof above their heads. I was pleased, therefore, to hear the Minister for Climate Change, in response to a question from me some weeks ago, saying unambiguously:
Mabon ap Gwynfor: ‘I would like the right to adequate housing to be more than just an idea, but to be an enforceable individual right’.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: This is recognition that we need an increase in the housing stock. So, we must see real investment in public housing.
Mabon ap Gwynfor: Research commissioned by Tai Pawb, Shelter Cymru and the Chartered Institute of Housing Cymru found that introducing the right to adequate housing would generate significant savings for the public purse. Indeed, the independent analysis identified benefits to the public purse worth £11.5 billion, against overall costs of £5 billion over a 30-year period. It's projected that those benefits...
