Group 1: Climate Crisis and Ecological Emergency (Amendments 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:44 pm on 2 March 2021.

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Photo of Kirsty Williams Kirsty Williams Liberal Democrat 4:44, 2 March 2021

Oh boy, Presiding Officer. I am sorely tempted to riff on the concept of false equivalence and to debate Mr Hamilton on his interjection this afternoon. What I am able to assure Senedd Members is that concepts such as false equivalence, fake news and propaganda will indeed form part of the new Curriculum for Wales, and we will indeed be equipping our children and our young people to debate some of the, if you don't mind me saying, nonsense we've just heard from Mr Hamilton.

Can I very much welcome Llyr Gruffydd back to debating education issues with me? It's very welcome indeed. I know that Llyr understands well the rationale and the concepts and the thinking, the pedagogical thinking, that lies behind our approach to curriculum reform here in Wales, and I was very grateful for his support, when he was the education spokesperson for Plaid Cymru, for the direction of travel in which we were taking curriculum reform. He understands well that one of the four purposes of our new curriculum is to ensure that we have ethical, informed citizens of Wales and the world as a result of children's time in the education system in Wales. And I know that he supports that. And whilst I am very pleased that he has raised the climate crisis and the ecological emergency as an area for inclusion in the new curriculum framework, I do not believe that the amendments that he has put forward to include that on the face of the Bill are necessary.