QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS
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"I guess I did break a few glass ceilings," Jennie George laughed when asked about her long career.
Ms George today receives the Order of Australia (AO) in recognition of four decades of service to industrial relations, where she paved the way for women in the union movement, and service to the Australian Parliament.
Throsby MP from 2001-2010, Ms George's contributions to Parliament included chairing the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Climate Change, Water, Environment and the Arts, and shadow parliamentary secretary for environment and heritage.
"It helps me at a personal level to reflect on that contribution. I'd like to think that I've made it in a positive and constructive way to the nation," she said.
Ms George, however, cites her time in the union movement as among her greatest achievements.
Beginning her career as a teacher at Bankstown Girls' and Queanbeyan high schools, her 30 years of union service began when she was named as general secretary of the NSW Teachers Federation in 1980.
She would soon become the first woman elected to the Australian Council of Trade Unions, and then the first woman named to the positions of assistant secretary, vice-president and president of the ACTU.
"I was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time, to have the opportunity to be a bit of a trailblazer," Ms George said.
She left the union movement when she succeeded Colin Hollis as Member for Throsby in 2001, but she is quick to give praise to union members for her AO recognition.
"I think the award is not just recognition of me, but of the contribution of women to the labour movement, which historically is not always recognised," she said.
"It's very important for democracies to have vibrant union movements and unions, and I'm pleased to see the legacy I helped create continue on."