‘Not good at nuance’: Former minister reveals autism diagnosis in retirement speech

When Harriet Shing was diagnosed with autism, she was already an elected member of parliament and found herself overwhelmed by things that never seemed to bother other people.

Although the diagnosis helped her navigate these moments, Shing found the prospect of telling people so daunting that, most times, she chose not to.

But during her valedictory speech in parliament’s upper house on Tuesday night, the retiring former minister, who has served in the Labor government since its surprise election victory in 2014, went public about her diagnosis for the first time.

“I have always been a bit unusual … in more than a handful of ways,” she said.

“It is not just a case of being – as described in The Age in what I consider to be the greatest compliment I have ever received in my working life – ‘a serious policy wonk’.

“When I was diagnosed with autism early in my parliamentary career, a lot of things started to make sense to me.

“About why so many things did not easily make sense to me and why I found myself overwhelmed at various points by a range of different things that many people do not think twice about.”

Shing said telling people had been difficult, and making her decision to share her story in parliament was “quite a confronting moment”.

“And it has been really exhausting – so exhausting that in many instances it has actually just been easier, at least in the short term, not to say anything at all,” she said.

The MP – who held portfolios including health, water, equality and the Suburban Rail Loop during her time as a minister – thanked those who had made small, important adjustments to cater for her condition.

“From changing lighting to managing last-minute changes to plans and understanding my reputation for taking just about everything literally and my endless questions based in curiosity and a desire to understand evidence, merits and difficulties: thank you. I do not make it easy,” she said.

“Your accommodations made a huge difference in many instances and also enabled me to complete my days in one piece. You have made me feel less of an oddity, more certain, less of an outlier and valued for the things I can do, and that has meant the world.”

It is rare for Australian MPs to speak about being neurodivergent, although in August, federal Labor MP Josh Burns told the ABC’s Kitchen Cabinet program about recently being diagnosed with ADHD.

But the number of autism diagnoses has substantially increased in recent years, particularly among adults, as awareness grows. Autism Spectrum Australia estimated in 2024 that at least one in 40 people are on the autism spectrum, well above the previous estimate of one in 70.

In Shing’s speech, she also recalled the same-sex marriage postal ballot that asked whether people like herself should have the right to marry – and the moment in 2017 when former premier Daniel Andrews and then-equality minister Martin Foley celebrated the result on the steps of parliament and asked her to join them.

“That was a moment of fundamental importance to me, because for so long I stood in this place and I bared myself to the world and I begged and I asked to be accepted for who I am,” she said.

“And with that resolved, we were finally given the opportunity to be as happy or, pending divorce proceedings, as miserable as everybody else.

“We also have long-awaited inclusion in the census, IVF and adoption law reforms for LGBTIQA+ people, amendments to the Equal Opportunity Act 2010, intersex reforms, banning of those devastating conversion and suppression practices, the Safe Schools program and Pride in Ageing.”

Shing once organised and paid for what may be the only drag story time event parliament’s history – because libraries around the state had cancelled their own events after receiving threats.

“All of these things are examples of the work we have done together, history that deserves recognition, and respect and work that matters for those who are no longer here and for those who, because of the changes brought about by so many extraordinary people, will grow up and live without the stigma, violence or discrimination that has come before them.”

On her way out the door, Shing also took a thinly veiled swipe at new premier Ben Carroll’s efforts to distance himself from the government’s achievements over the past 12 years. She had been a close ally of Jacinta Allan, and stepped down from the ministry after she lost the leadership.

“Our history as a government matters, and it is not something that we should ignore or turn away from,” Shing told the parliament.

“No government is perfect, but no government gets better for being defined exclusively by what has not worked or what should not be discussed.

“I am not good at nuance at the best of times, but on this I am clear: who we are now is built on the foundations of who we have been and where we have been.”

But she thanked Carroll, who was present in the chamber, for the opportunity to be part of his team.

Shing also acknowledged her staff, friends and family – including her late sister Genevieve, who died a fortnight ago – and singled out her partner Lissie Ratcliff, who worked as chief of staff to Andrews for seven years.

“You are funnier, smarter and taller than I will ever be. Thank you for being the keel to our family, the one whose company I love above all others. I am sorry that our animals love me more than they love you,” she said.

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