Official Opening of the Sixth Senedd

We here are a reflection of the diversity of the people of Wales. But, there is still more to do to increase the diversity of our Senedd and to further embed our democracy. And we will work to do just that during this Senedd term.

Like all Parliaments around the world, our work over the past 18 months has been dominated, in both practice and content, by the coronavirus pandemic as we sought to keep our country as safe as possible. We thank all the people of Wales, our health and care workers in particular, for their extraordinary efforts during this time.

We are greatly indebted to those who worked so exceptionally hard during the pandemic, especially our health and care staff, who went above and beyond for all of our sakes.

Today we are joined by COVID champions from all parts of Wales who worked in very many different ways to support others and tackle coronavirus in their communities. Croeso i chi i gyd.

As the Llywydd, one of my most uplifting days in this Chamber was chairing the very first meeting of our Senedd Ieuenctid, the Welsh Youth Parliament. Elected for the first time in 2018, the young parliamentarians provided a new dynamic to our work here. And we are joined by their representatives today.

We are also joined by some of Wales’s newest residents, a young family who fled the streets of Kabul recently and found a safe home for themselves, along with others, here in our nation of sanctuary.

Welcome, therefore, to representatives of the Youth Parliament today, and thank you for your work. We look forward to working with your successors in the new Youth Parliament that is about to be elected. Welcome, too, to the asylum seekers from Afghanistan to their national Parliament, their Senedd, on the day it is officially opened.

As a Parliament, we continued to work through the pandemic, in scrutinising Government and passing legislation. We were one of the first Parliaments in the world to meet virtually and to vote remotely. Even in the depths of lockdown, democracy continued in Wales.

Our work as a Senedd for the next term will undoubtedly focus on recovering from the COVID pandemic. But there will also be many other challenges and opportunities, from playing a leading role in tackling climate change to promoting equality and fairness for all in Wales.

Let our sixth Senedd be productive and innovative, and let us respect everyone, from all parts of our country, from all backgrounds and from the entire spectrum of opinion.

Let our sixth Senedd be productive and innovative, and let us respect, at all times, each other as Members and all the people we represent.

I ask you now, Your Majesty, to address the Senedd.

Llywydd, First Minister and Members of the Senedd, it is a pleasure to be with you today, and I congratulate you on your recent election. You have been entrusted to be the voice of the people of Wales, to represent their interests when decisions that affect their everyday lives are debated and decided within these walls.

When I was here for the last opening in 2016, I noted that the fifth Assembly would mark a significant development in the history of devolution in Wales. Since then, further measures have been taken to strengthen the foundations of your parliamentary democracy. The Wales Act 2017 established this Parliament on a new basis, and you've used this legislation to help the public better understand your work and to include more people in the democratic process. As a result, this Parliament is now recognised in law as 'Senedd Cymru' or the 'Welsh Parliament'. The name reflects this institution's evolution over its 22 years into one with law-making powers over a wide range of areas that are central to Welsh life and the ability to vary taxes. It demonstrates your status as a national Parliament, working on behalf of the people of Wales. You are also reaching out to every generation, and the establishment of the first Welsh Youth Parliament has provided another opportunity for the voices of young people to be heard, enabling them to make a valuable contribution to the Senedd’s work.

You are also to be commended for your innovation; this was the first of the United Kingdom’s legislatures to hold a formal virtual meeting. The fact that all parties showed a determination that you should continue to meet is commendable and testament to your commitment to scrutinise the Government on behalf of the people of Wales.

I have spoken before about how recent times have in many ways brought us closer together. We all owe a debt of gratitude to those who have risen so magnificently to the challenges of the last 18 months, from key workers to volunteers, who have done so much to serve their communities. They are shining examples of the spirit for which the Welsh people are so renowned, a spirit which I have personally encountered so many times.

It is a source of pleasure that both the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, together with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have had homes in Wales and experienced its very special sense of community. The Welsh people have much to be proud of, and, over the next five years, I am sure you will continue to be inspired by their indomitable spirit as you represent the interests of Wales and its people, make laws for Wales, and hold the Welsh Government to account.

There are many challenges ahead as you work together to promote the well-being of the people of Wales and support the recovery effort. The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and I extend our warmest good wishes to you for the sixth session of this Parliament and hope you have every success with your endeavours. Diolch o galon. [Applause.]

As First Minister, may I begin by saying that it is a pleasure to welcome you, Your Majesty, to the Senedd today as you open the sixth Senedd session? Thank you for your kind words. May I thank you for the support that you have shown our Senedd since you opened our first session in 1999, and also thank you for your service to the country over the years?

The opening of this sixth Senedd session is a time for all of us to look to the future. People from all corners of Wales, including those most distant from this building, have chosen 60 Members to represent our collective ambitions and to steer a course for our country. In the years ahead, I'm sure that we will argue and disagree about what is best for Wales, but always, in this Senedd term, with the interests of those we represent at the centre of everything that we do.

We gather for this sixth Senedd in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, a pandemic that has created so much sorrow for so many families across Wales. We pause, as we do regularly in this Chamber, to think of each one of them today. At the same time, we've seen the very best of Wales in our health and care system, the shop workers, the teachers, all those public service workers, the businesses and volunteers whose commitment, dedication and sheer hard work has helped to keep Wales open during this most difficult of times.

As we look beyond the pandemic, we recognise that we still have many challenges ahead. To meet them, we will use all of our powers to promote prosperity, equality and well-being for everyone in Wales, and to turn ourselves to that other great crisis of our times, the crisis in climate change and the loss of our biodiversity.

As elected representatives, we have the privilege and the duty to defend and to strengthen our democracy, to promote the well-being of all of our citizens, and to promote the natural beauty of the country in which we are so lucky to live, here in Wales, and, uniquely, to do so with our self-imposed obligations to take into account the needs of future generations in everything, as a Government and as a Senedd, we decide here in this Chamber.