English: Thank you, David Melding, for your historic perspective, which is very useful. I think that the specifics of this contract, and the failure of NRW to see that there was anything wrong in the way in which they proceeded, have been very well covered by the Public Accounts Committee report. I just wanted to add my voice to why the failure of NRW to understand that the way in which they were proceeding was inappropriate has some bearing on the wider issues of the importance of forestry and the timber industry in Wales. Because during the Climate Change, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee inquiry on forestry, we went out and met, obviously, many members of the industry, and I certainly remember going to the Crumlin sawmill and being told that they were extremely upset that the contract for the larch had not been put out to public tender, and, indeed, were extremely surprised that it had not been put out to retender after the auditor general had raised his original concerns. So, I think, if you like, the crime was committed twice, in that not only was the original contract not put out to tender, but then, when the error was pointed out to them, they dug an even bigger hole. I think it's very concerning, because NRW plays a very strategic role in controlling the price of wood in Wales, and understood that role because they used to release wood onto the market to stabilise it. So, I find it inexplicable that, for example, the contract that they said they offered to tender between May 2012 and May 2013 wasn't taken up. It's very difficult for a lay person to understand how it was that the industry didn't take it up at the time, because they're today saying they're very upset that they weren't given the opportunity to bid for it. I suppose the second point that is difficult for me to understand is why it was not possible to deal with the diseased larch on a more moderated basis, rather than push the whole lot onto the market, which, obviously, was going to suppress the price of the wood; that's completely obvious. I don't understand why - if you fell the wood, is it not possible to leave it and then clear it as required? Because there's a huge market for larch. It's used for cladding, it's used for flooring, and it's used to substitute for oak. And, given that we're the third largest importer of wood in the world, there has to be a market for domestic wood. I just don't understand it; it simply add doesn't add up -
Welsh: Diolch i chi, David Melding, am eich persbectif hanesyddol, sy'n ddefnyddiol iawn. Credaf fod manylion y contract hwn, a methiant Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru i weld bod unrhyw beth o'i le yn y ffordd yr aethant ati, wedi cael eu trafod yn drylwyr iawn yn adroddiad y Pwyllgor Cyfrifon Cyhoeddus. Roeddwn am ychwanegu fy llais i ddweud pam fod methiant Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru i ddeall eu bod wedi mynd ati mewn modd amhriodol yn taflu goleuni ar y materion ehangach sy'n ymwneud â phwysigrwydd coedwigaeth a'r diwydiant coed yng Nghymru. Oherwydd yn ystod ymchwiliad y Pwyllgor Newid Hinsawdd, yr Amgylchedd a Materion Gwledig ar goedwigaeth, aethom allan a chyfarfod, yn amlwg, â llawer o aelodau o'r diwydiant, ac rwy'n sicr yn cofio mynd i felin goed Crymlyn a chael gwybod eu bod yn hynod o ofidus nad oedd y contract coed llarwydd wedi'i roi allan i dendr cyhoeddus, ac yn wir, yn synnu'n fawr nad oedd wedi'i roi allan ar gyfer aildendro ar ôl i'r archwilydd cyffredinol fynegi ei bryderon gwreiddiol. Felly, rwy'n meddwl, os mynnwch, fod y drosedd wedi'i chyflawni ddwywaith, yn yr ystyr, nid yn unig fod y contract gwreiddiol heb gael ei roi allan i dendr, ond wedyn, pan dynnwyd eu sylw at y camgymeriad, eu bod wedi mynd ati i gloddio twll hyd yn oed yn fwy. Rwy'n credu ei fod yn destun pryder mawr, oherwydd mae Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru yn chwarae rhan strategol iawn yn rheoli pris coed yng Nghymru, ac roedd yn deall y rhan honno oherwydd eu bod yn arfer rhyddhau coed ar y farchnad er mwyn ei sefydlogi. Felly, nid wyf yn gallu deall, er enghraifft, pam na chymerwyd y contract a roesant allan i dendr rhwng mis Mai 2012 a Mai 2013 er enghraifft. Mae'n anodd iawn i berson lleyg ddeall pam na chafodd ei gymryd gan y diwydiant ar y pryd, am eu bod yn dweud heddiw eu bod yn drist iawn na chawsant gyfle i wneud cais amdano. Mae'n debyg mai'r ail bwynt sy'n anodd i mi ei ddeall yw pam nad oedd yn bosibl ymdrin â'r coed llarwydd heintiedig ar sail fwy cymedrol, yn hytrach na gwthio'r cyfan ar y farchnad, a oedd, yn amlwg, yn mynd i ostwng pris coed; mae hynny'n hollol amlwg. Nid wyf yn deall pam - os ydych yn cwympo coed, onid oes modd ei adael, ac yna ei glirio fel sy'n ofynnol? Oherwydd mae marchnad enfawr ar gyfer coed llarwydd. Caiff ei ddefnyddio ar gyfer cladin, caiff ei ddefnyddio ar gyfer lloriau, a chaiff ei ddefnyddio fel dewis arall yn lle derw. Ac o ystyried mai ni yw'r trydydd mewnforiwr mwyaf o goed yn y byd, mae'n rhaid bod marchnad ar gyfer coed a dyfir yn y wlad hon. Nid wyf yn ei ddeall; nid yw'n gwneud synnwyr -