How Gillard has got it so wrong on carbon?

Comments on Paul Kelly “Perfect storm for carbon crusader”, 20/04/2011, http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/commentary/perfect-storm-for-carbon-crusader/story-e6frgd0x-1226041798709

The question, though a bit late now, is whether there were better strategies Gillard could have taken to avoid the current big mess?

I would think that Gillard rushed unnecessarily to form alliance with the Greens and to change her stance on not introducing a carbon tax.

The Greens will always support ALP and Gillard over the Coalition's Abbott irrespective Gillard's alliance with it or not, so Gillard should have realised that and formed an independent ALP minority government with no alliance with the Greens.

By being independent, it would have had more policy freedom and more power in bargaining with the Greens, as well as the independents in the house.

Secondly, in terms of carbon pricing, Gillard made the first mistake when she made the pre-election pledge of no carbon tax. She then made the second mistake by forming the parliamentary committee including the Greens and the independents. Her third mistake was to rush to a self imposed schedule of legislating for a carbon tax to be introduced from 1 July 2012.

She should have continued her pre-election cautious approach to this and adopt a strategy to have a full carbon pricing scheme ready to take to the next election as a central focus.