OPPOSITION Leader Tony Abbott says a Coalition government would not take international legal action against Japanese whaling - despite environment spokesman Greg Hunt urging the Rudd Government to do so immediately.

''Coalition policy is not to take Japan to the international court. We are against whaling, but we wouldn't seek to advance [the cause] in that particular way,'' Mr Abbott said yesterday.

He claimed this did not contradict Mr Hunt's calls for Environment Minister Peter Garrett to submit initial court documents by January 31.

''The Government should honour their policy [for legal action] - which we don't support - or change it,'' he said. Earlier he told Sydney radio that legal action ''is Kevin Rudd's policy, not the Coalition's policy''.

While the Coalition would like Japan to stop whaling, ''we don't want to needlessly antagonise our most important trading partner, a fellow democracy, an ally'', he said.