The senior Labor frontbencher was adamant that she was not pushed and that there were no health problems or life altering events that prompted her decision, except for a desire to be more present for her children as they grow up.

It's a loss for territory politics, which some have observed already suffers from a dearth of talent.

Saddled with two of the heaviest portfolios, Fitzharris was never far from the news and often at the centre of some controversy.

Regardless of your stance on the hospital and the buses, the outpouring of thanks from people who've had personal dealings with her should tell you everything you need to know about the calibre of person and politician she is.

The question we should be asking ourselves now is, how do we keep people like her in politics?

For all its perks, politics is a punishing profession.

The ACT was heralded as some sort of harbinger for equality when it elected a majority of women at the 2016 territory election.

In reality, we are more of an aberration, which can be attributed in part to structural factors.

The ACT uses the Hare-Clark system of proportional voting, which not only gives voters the choice between parties but between candidates within the parties, making it more likely those elected more accurately reflect the community they represent. Tasmania, which also elected a female majority last year, also uses this system.

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The Assembly has also been dominated by Labor for nearly two decades, after it adopted quotas in 1994.

Under the quota, two of the five candidates in each electorate must be women, two men and the last spot open to either. Just one of the open spots went to a woman last election, a fact Assembly Speaker Joy Burch has said proves the quotas are necessary and working.

Also, unlike their federal colleagues, ACT politicians live where they work, meaning days and weeks away from the family home are not required.

But it also means our local parliamentarians are rarely off the clock.

While the Assembly moved to become a family-friendly workplace in recent years, shortening sitting hours and introducing pairs for nursing mothers or those with carer responsibilities, their workday does not end when they leave the chamber at 6pm.

Their evenings are full of functions, as too are their weekends. Their morning school run can be punctuated with a breakfast radio interview, their evening meals peppered with texts from reporters.

For women, who still do the lion's share of unpaid care and domestic labour, this means work-life balance is even more elusive. An army of supportive partners, doting family members and paid help are required to help the ACT Assembly retain its female majority.

The difficult line walked by legislators and parents was laid bare when Education Minister Yvette Berry felt compelled to hold a press conference last month after her son was suspended after being in a fight at school.

Is it any wonder there were nearly double the number of male candidates as female in the last territory election?

But this is an Australia-wide problem.

Analysis by the Parliamentary Library last year found women held only 281 of the 829 seats across Australian parliaments.

And while last month's federal election increased female representation marginally, it also followed the exit of senior Liberal Kelly O'Dwyer for family reasons.

The ensuing Labor leadership battle also saw one of the party's most senior women, Tanya Plibersek, bow out early due to her family responsibilities.

The benefit of having more women in parliament and in senior positions is clear.

Numerous studies have indicated issues in education, childcare and family health are more likely to be progressed by female parliamentarians.

A higher proportion of women in parliament has also been shown to lead to more comprehensive laws on sexual harassment, rape, divorce and domestic violence.

ACT senator and former Labor chief minister Katy Gallagher has said Fitzharris' retirement should not be read as a sign that it's "impossible" for women to have a family and be in politics.

"I don't think Meegan would want politics to be seen as impossible for women with children; it's not. It's got to be a balance of competing priorities. It isn't easy at all - politics is all-consuming and families are all-consuming and when that balance gets out of whack it's decision time. But she won't look back from it and won't regret it," Ms Gallagher said.

But maybe it should be a reminder that there is a cost to policymaking when the personal toll of politics becomes too great.