Rudd admits Gillard had no mandate for her tax. Time some journalists did, too How come Kevin Rudd can admit what so many journalists of the Left still cannot?: Kevin Rudd has admitted Labor did not have a mandate to introduce the carbon tax in this term of government, conceding one of the coalition's central lines of political attack. Speaking on ABC TV's Insiders programme on Sunday morning, Rudd said he was "the first one to admit that in the past the [Labor] government has got a number of things wrong" and he cited as an example: "I don't think our actions on the carbon tax were right and I changed it â¦ We didn't have a mandate for it." Remember how the Sunday Age last month published this claim from writer Kerry-Anne Walsh, peddling a completely fake quote to deny Gillard lacked a mandate? Her critics claimed she had broken an ironclad election promise not to introduce a â"carbon tax"." During the election campaign she had stated: â"There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead, but let me be clear: I will be putting a price on carbon and I will move to an emissions trading scheme."" This is what she announced, but not as far as those in the opposition and hysterical commentariat were concerned. Remember how journalists two years ago cheered Gillard for breaking her promise not to introduce a carbon tax, and waved away objections she had no mandate? Here's the ABC's Annabel Crabb: "Julia Gillard, now that she has formally abandoned herself to the reckless pursuit of principle from which she memorably dissuaded her predecessor just under a year ago, is looking more confident than she ever has." Here's ABC presenter Jon Faine, a warmist: "I personally think anyone who follows politics can understand how things change after you form a minority government, you have to do deals to maintain power . . . Politics requires that sort of change of circumstance. Here is The Age, a Bible of warmism: "She has had to break a somewhat foolish pre-election promise not to introduce a carbon tax because of the reality in which she later found herself, leading a minority government depending on Greens and independents for survival...." Next, here's Lenore Taylor of The Sydney Morning Herald [now Financial Review] .... Of course while the Prime Minister had ruled out a carbon tax during the election campaign she never ruled out an emissions trading scheme or a carbon price, but her election policy was so crazy and confused it's a bit hard for her to defend.