When federal Small and Family Business Minister Michaelia Cash woke up on Monday morning she had no idea she would be watching the birth of a bee.
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After a breakfast meeting with Launceston Chamber of Commerce members in the CBD, Ms Cash donned a pink beekeeping suit and was put to work at Evandale by beekeeper Lindsay Bourke, who is also the Tasmanian Beekeeping Association president.
The opportunity to spend the day as a beekeeper came as a result of Ms Cash’s Around Australia with Small Business roadshow.
“I try to do something that’s a bit different. I’ve been a forklift driver, a zookeeper and pulled beers,” she said.
And on Monday Ms Cash learned about the business of a Launceston beekeeper who produced honey products for Australian and international markets, and provides pollination service to Tasmania’s agricultural industry.
“I want to share the pride we have in our honey and crop pollination,” Mr Lindsay said.
Mr Bourke employs 11 beekeepers in Tasmania’s North and North-West to keep up with demand for his Launceston-based business Australian Honey Products.
“Lindsay is renowned in Australia and globally for producing some of the best honey in the world,” Ms Cash said.
“It is absolutely fascinating.
“It is such a privilege to eat honey straight from Lindsay’s hives. To see a bee being born and to actually see the whole process from pollinating to birth is so exciting.”
But the visit was not all about practical beekeeping, with Mr Bourke helping Ms Cash understand the pain points in his business.
“It’s just understanding what is important to him, such as policies, lowering the tax rate, extending the instant asset write off and cutting red tape,” she said.
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