Tasmanian beekeepers seek sweet reassurance

Tasmanian beekeepers are trying to raise the issue of bees and leatherwood trees in their election campaign. Leatherwood eucalyptus trees produce one of the world's great honeys.

“We've found [leatherwood trees] still being felled and we're not getting the secure resource that we need now,” said beekeeper Shirley Stevens.

Meanwhile the Prime Minister, John Howard, feels other pressures:

“It's a difficult issue, there are a lot of people who would like to see old-growth logging stopped, I guess I would, but I'm not willing to sacrifice the jobs of Tasmanian timber workers or local communities,” he said.