May I start by declaring an interest that I am a county councillor in Carmarthenshire? I'm extremely pleased to contribute to this debate. The exploitation of Wales's natural resources by Westminster is an emotional and historic issue. That kind of extractive economy has been in place for centuries: our coal, slate, water, electricity, homes for tourists, and, more recently, our agricultural land for tree planting. The physical scars of this destruction still scar our landscapes through the coal tips, the slate piles, the reservoirs, the empty, unlit holiday homes, and in the trees were once there were communities.

In all of these examples, the wealth of our natural resources has been extracted from Wales, whilst leaving us one of the poorest nations in Europe. But think how rich Wales could be if we had legislative control over these natural resources. As a matter of principle, in my view, at the core of all of our policies as a Senedd, we should build community wealth and community ownership of the natural economy and capital of Wales.

Let us consider the Crown Estate resources, as we've heard already, as an example. In my view, the territorial assets of the Crown Estate should be devolved to this place, bringing our natural resources and the rents charged closer to home in order to generate income that can be used for the benefit of the people of Wales. We could then use those profits from the estate to respond to the economic and social priorities of Wales.

The Crown Estate, as we've heard, owns some 65 per cent of the sea bed and coastal lands in Wales. According to a recent estimate, these resources are worth some £600 million. Imagine, for just a second, the profits that could be generated to Wales through investing in exciting green energy proposals such as tidal lagoons and offshore wind turbines and so on. At the moment, it's the Crown Estate that holds the rights to these sites. It's only when they are managed by Wales and its people that we can distribute and use the Welsh natural resources and economic rents accruing from their use in a way that would benefit our communities.

After all, the Crown Estate is already devolved to Scotland, and has been since 2017, and they benefit from some £12 million per year to spend on health, education, public transport, green energy and so on and so forth. The Crown Estate in the hands of the people of Wales would give us a long-term source of funding that would allow us to invest in our future and to deliver our climate change objectives.

Let me next turn to water, which is an exceptionally emotional issue for us in Wales. I need only refer to Tryweryn to understand the impact the drowning of Capel Celyn had on our psyche as a nation. Millions and millions of litres of water are extracted from Wales and sent over the border every day. The current water protocol, which outlines the relationship between the Welsh Government and the Westminster Government ensures that Westminster has a veto over decisions relating to water in Wales. We cannot and we should not settle for the empty pledges of Westminster, and with fears of water shortages growing and periods of drought likely to be more common in the future, then it's very possible that water will become a very valuable resource to us. We must, therefore, have a legal agreement that we should never destroy Welsh communities again for the water needs of elsewhere, that any decisions on meeting those needs should be made here by the Welsh Government in consultation with local communities. 

I want to conclude by mentioning electricity. Wales produces twice as much electricity as it uses. The rest is exported. In Europe, only France, Germany and Sweden export more electricity than Wales. But the problem is, despite our strength in this area, there is very little benefit to the people of Wales, with some third of homes suffering fuel poverty and our people facing the highest fuel costs in the UK. That, Llywydd, is not acceptable.

I will conclude with this brief paragraph. For a future where Wales is not squeezed to provide its resources to the world whilst its own people suffer, then we must ensure that our nation and our people have control over our most valuable asset, namely our natural resources. Let us not allow a legacy for future generations, such as our coal tips and water reservoirs, of opportunities lost, that are painful scars of the way in which Wales has been exploited over centuries. It's time for that to come to an end. It's time for us to have full control of those resources on Welsh land.