Hands off our Welsh water

It is becoming increasingly apparent that water is going to be a valuable resource for the people of Wales in the years to come. It is now imperative that Plaid Cymru leads a positive national campaign to safeguard the future of Wales' water resources.

The issue was brought into sharp relief this week when the National Farmers' Union in England called for the exploitation of Wales' water for the benefit of the drought-hit south-east of England. Plaid Cymru's evidence to the UK Government's Commission on Devolution, also known as the Silk Commission, calls for the Welsh Government to be given the power to levy new taxes.

Plaid Cymru must make sure that people in Wales fully benefit from any future exploitation of Welsh resources. Water has a deep emotional resonance amongst the Welsh people. It is a crucial part of our national history and we have a lot of it. The story of Tryweryn still rings true: Wales has an abundant resource which thirsty parts of the state desire. We must play to our strengths and we should allow the export of our water - but on the condition that the people of Wales should see the benefit.

At the moment it is not possible to directly charge money for water that specifically goes to England, because in the privatised water market there aren't any national borders. However, if future changes are made to the market in line with the climate change agenda, we must make sure that Wales is in a position to benefit financially. At the moment water is not that valuable in raw monetary terms. But this could change. Any new taxes we could levy on water would be looking to the future and specifically to any new reservoirs or other pieces of infrastructure that might be developed in Wales.

The UK Government is developing a new water policy which may also involve legislation. The Welsh Government is also interested in water having recently issued a statement about its role in combating climate change. It is no coincidence that the Government of Wales Act specifically excludes the Assembly from making any laws relating to water supply. Why don't the powers-that-be want Wales to decide on our own natural resources?

These resources should belong to the Welsh people, not to corporations or to the UK Government.

Questions for Carwyn

Why has it taken the actions of an anti-wind farm protest group from Powys for you to start publicly asking Westminster for powers over energy projects generating more than 50MW of electricity on land? This unfair restraint on Welsh autonomy – which does not apply in Scotland – has been the case for several years as you know, since you once held the Environment portfolio.

Do you base your demands at the various recent meetings of the four nations on what your counterparts in Scotland and the Six Counties are asking for? Do you have a clear idea as to what powers you want devolved from Westminster to Wales?

Why did your party colleagues rubbish Plaid Cymru’s ambitious plans to make finance available for capital projects, which would provide a buffer against the ConDem cuts and create thousands of jobs with our Build for Wales proposal when your cabinet colleagues are now refusing point blank to rule out seeking funding through the socially destructive Private Finance Initiative? And if the proposal was rubbish, why did Jane Hutt say yesterday that our Build4Wales idea is now being considered by your government as an option?

Why is it that the Welsh Government has yet to outline its position on the public sector services strike planned for next Thursday? I attempted to find out on two separate occasions in plenary this week what will happen but your Finance Minister, Jane Hutt, refused to answer the question both times. Are you afraid of upsetting your party colleagues in Westminster, particularly Ed Balls who shamefully called for the trade unions not to strike in defence of an unparalleled assault on their pensions? As a UNISON member yourself, you really need to make you and your Government’s position clear. This is an issue that is not going to go away anytime soon.

Carwyn, it's ‘time to lead.’