PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd and his Environment Minister Peter Garrett are "heroes at home but cowards in Tokyo" on the issue of Japanese whaling, the Federal Opposition says.

Opposition environment spokeswoman Sharman Stone said Mr Rudd's failure to visit Japan on his recent world trip, his failure to appoint the promised whale ambassador and the failure of Mr Garrett to decide what to do with his threatened legal challenges, showed Labor's "chest thumping" about whaling was simply that.

"Only a strictly enforced global ban will give whales a chance to survive the new and escalating pressures of their marine environment changes due to global warming and climate change," Dr Stone said in a statement.

"It showed that Mr Rudd and Mr Garrett have been heroes at home but cowards in Tokyo," she said.

She was speaking after Mr Garrett today said he would meet his New Zealand counterpart tomorrow to co-ordinate a strategy to stop Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean.

New Zealand and Australia, strong anti-whaling nations, hope to use the International Whaling Commission's annual conference in June to pressure Japan to stop its controversial whale hunt.

Dr Stone said Mr Rudd missed the chance to stress the risks of eating cetacean to Japanese citizens.

"Whales, at the top of the food chain, are now more susceptible than ever to contaminants, particularly polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, dioxins and methyl mercury," she said.

"There is a growing body of evidence outlining the health effects of whale meat consumption - including potential contamination of slaughtermen during the slaughter  process."

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