New Zealander of the year, Kristine Bartlett has spoken candidly about her national honour, admitting she never thought she was ever going to win.
"My heart's racing. I'm emotional because it was a great feat what happened," Ms Bartlett said.
An aged care worker who fought for the rights of over 55,000 of her female peers, Bartlett undertook a 5 year campaign which included 3 court cases.
The case was eventually awarded a $2 billion settlement, but she says her fight doesn't stop there.
"You know what, maybe some more people will listen to more struggles that are going on within equal pay, women's rights, gender pay gap, equality. Now I can start fighting again."
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she was overwhelmed with pride when she announced her as the winner.
"That extra step that she took on behalf of thousands of workers doing the same thing as her, putting herself on the line like that makes her such a worthy recipient, and it makes me feels so proud to see her being recognised," Ms Ardern said.
Ms Bartlett was a finalist alongside microbiolgist Siouxie Wiles and mental health campaigner Mike King.
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