(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-09 20:34

CANBERRA  -- Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Friday dismissed claims by the opposition that the government is softening its stance against whaling.

"Our attitude is that we should use every diplomatic mechanism available to us to end the commercial whaling, because that's what in effect it is, in the southern ocean," Rudd told reporters in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland.

"We are working on that diplomatically with our friends in Tokyo and we continue to examine the legal options which are available to us as well," the Australian Associated Press quoted him as saying.

"We will take this systematically, but our point is, as we've always said, to do everything humanly, diplomatically and legally possible to bring about an end to commercial whaling in the southern ocean," he added.

Rudd will visit Tokyo next month for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

Opposition environment spokesman Greg Hunt said this week that the government had been late in putting in place its anti-whaling policy, from the monitoring mission to the appointment of an envoy, and it was now likely to drop the idea of heading to the courts.