House of Commons petitions for Signage on the Senedd, a unified Welsh power grid and a second jury style scrutinising chamber
by cymrusofren
Below are three petitions submitted to the House of Commons by Cardiff West MP Kevin Brennan on 16 July 2013 as published in the Hansard report.
Signage of the Welsh Senedd building
Kevin Brennan (Cardiff West) (Lab): I am immensely grateful for that guidance, Mr Speaker. I shall present three petitions from my constituent, Mr Gruffydd Meredith.
In this petition Mr Meredith calls for the Government of Wales Act 2006 to be amended to rename the National Assembly for Wales as the Parliament of Wales or Senedd Cymru, with appropriate signage being erected so that every visitor will know its significance.
The petition of Mr Gruffydd Meredith,
Declares that up to 12 million people from all over the world visit Cardiff bay and pass the Senedd building annually yet the majority of these must have no idea what the Senedd building actually is or does, as they have no way of knowing unless they enter the building and ask the staff; further that Wales must be one of the few countries in the world that is does not have a sign denoting its own national parliament and that the Senedd building is one of Wales’ most important institutions and belongs to the people of Wales; further that there is a need and duty for the Senedd building to therefore showcase and make itself known to all the citizens of Wales as well as to the rest of the world.
The Petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons makes the necessary amendment to the Government of Wales Act 2006 and any other relevant act in order to facilitate the renaming of the current National Assembly for Wales or Cynulliad Cenedlaethol Cymru to Senedd Cymru (Parliament of Wales), placing a large sign on the main public entrance of the Senedd building overlooking Cardiff bay, with prominent lettering denoting ‘Senedd Cymru’ (Parliament of Wales), together with an impressive Welsh flag placed centrally at the front top of the sloping roofed entrance.
And the Petitioner remains etc.
A Unified Welsh power grid
Kevin Brennan: This petition calls for the Government of Wales Act 2006 to be amended to allow for the creation of a unified power grid.
The Petition of Gruffydd Meredith,
Declares that the current and historical energy map of Wales shows all the classic indicators of an extractive economy, with the extractive drainage lines either extending east out of Wales or to the ports; further that Wales is already greatly more than self sufficient in electricity generation, producing at least twice more electricity than what we use but most of this is given to the UK national grid and then sold back to us; further that future renewable energy projects for Wales show that we could be easily producing at least four times more than we use if we realised basic achievable renewable energy projects (including tidal lagoons and the Severn estuary instead of a barrage) and this without even mentioning the possibility of clean coal and methane gas extraction, which could make this figure higher again; further that joining the currently unconnected electricity lines could be done with specially designed pylons that blend in with the Welsh environment, by underground cables or by placing undersea cables in Cardigan Bay and this would mean that all of Wales’ energy production is quantifiable and our abundant excess energy can be exported and providing potentially thousands of new jobs.
The Petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons make the necessary amendment to the Government of Wales Act 2006 and any other relevant act in order to facilitate the development of an unified Welsh power grid, joining the currently unconnected electricity lines on North, Mid and South Wales.
And the Petitioner remains etc.
A Welsh Second Chamber
Kevin Brennan: This petition calls for the Government of Wales Act 2006 to be amended to establish a second, scrutinising Chamber in Wales to be called Ty’r bobol or Citizen House.
The Petition of Gruffydd Meredith,
Declares that there is a need for a second scrutinising chamber—a ‘Ty’r bobol’/ ‘Citizen House’, made up of Welsh citizens chosen at random from all over Wales in the citizen jury style system; further declares there should also be representation by independent non party affiliated experts and spokespeople from all fields suggested by small to medium sized businesses, non charity community groups, schools and colleges; further declares that this system of demarchy would provide Welsh politics with a much needed opportunity for independent scrutiny by the people and would make sure that the Welsh legislative process and the Welsh Government in general is able to be challenged and truly held to account where necessary.
The Petitioner therefore requests that the House of Commons make the necessary amendment of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and any other relevant act in order to facilitate the forming of a second scrutinising chamber in Wales made up of Welsh citizens chosen at random in the jury style system.
And the Petitioner remains etc.
Video link can be found here (roughly starts from 21.18/1 hour eighteen minutes in)http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Main/Player.aspx?meetingId=13603&player=silverlight
sovereignwales.com 