Jim Hopkins on climate change: 'It ain't farming that's the problem'

Leading sheep breeder Derek Daniell this week questioned agriculture's role in climate change in his document Inconvenient Truths.

Daniell suggested that air travel, tourism and an ever-growing human population are causing global warming, not farming.

The article struck a chord with Jim Hopkins, a regular contributor to The Country, who host Jamie Mackay refers to as a "rural raconteur".

The normally affable Hopkins was fired up over the Government's view of farming and climate change and inspired by Inconvenient Truths.

Read more: Derek Daniell's Inconvenient Truths
Jim Hopkins' Inconvenient Truths Speech

"All this debate and this anti-farming kind of hysteria. Those who are whipping up the frenzy vis-a-vis farming, here's a question you need to answer: How poor do you want New Zealand to be?

"Derek Daniell was asking exactly the same thing [but] he was asking it in another way. He was saying essentially that farming is getting better.

"If you're worrying about carbon emissions et al etc, it ain't farming that's the problem, the emissions are going down year on year on year.

"It's travel, it's tourism. So in my view it's quite clear that [Eugenie] Sage and [James] Shaw ... have been barking up the wrong tree and running down the wrong road.

"In fact, speaking of running down the wrong road, I think they should belt up. Especially when it comes to knocking farming, because farming's not the problem - as Derek pointed out - flying is - and who does a lot of that?

"Well, surprise, surprise, the pollies and the wallies, it ain't the cockies. They're too busy keeping New Zealand in the first world exporting things.

"And lo and behold, March [had the] highest exports ever and who is leading the way?
Meat, milk, dairy, farming, fish, timber et al etc.

"It's the same old story. That's where innovation is. That's where productivity is. That's where the money's coming from that's being squandered on fruitless light rail projects in Northland and Auckland et al etc.

"It makes me grumpy, Jamie - it does make me grumpy!"

Read Inconvenient Truths below: