IT is Wales’ ”destiny” to have its own parliament, Welsh Secretary Stephen Crabb said today.

Mr Crabb, cabinet minister in the Conservative UK government, spoke at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay calling for an end to discussion of further devolution which he claimed has characterised Welsh politics since the inception of the National Assembly in 1999.

He said the new Wales Bill, announced in the first Queen’s Speech of the new administration setting out its lawmaking plans, would pave the way for a reserved powers model specifying which powers Wales does not have rather than those it does. This would mean the default is for laws to be controlled in Cardiff.

But he urged Carwyn Jones to call a referendum on whether the Welsh Government should gain control of varying income tax.

Mr Crabb, MP for Preseli Pembrokeshire, used his first appearance in the chamber to say: “It is the destiny of this National Assembly to become a parliament. Increasingly and unquestionably this is a place of debate and decision making, of Welsh national life.”

He added the very means by which he addressed the Senedd and kept a seat there was an “anachronism”, saying he wanted to scrap the law requiring him to update AMs on the UK government’s legislative plans as it was “from another era.”

New powers for Wales soon to be devolved were not a “bolt-on extra”, he added. “This is a fundamental rewiring of the settlement, the most far-reaching and significant package of powers ever devolved to Wales.”

Among new powers will be control over licensing for on-shore windfarms and exploration for oil and gas.

Jane Hutt, Welsh Government finance minister, welcomed Mr Crabb to the Assembly. She told the chamber: “The Queen’s Speech contained a number of bills of huge constitutional significance, including the EU referendum bill and a possible Bill of Rights. The First Minister has already expressed our opinion to any attempt to replace or repeal the Human Rights Act, and any decision to leave the EU against the wishes of the people of Wales.

“We do welcome the apparent decision not to hold the EU referendum on the same day as the Assembly elections.”