Tony Abbott has defended his "goodies" and "baddies" description of the Syrian civil war, saying colloquial language is fine when you're trying to explain complex situations to ordinary people.
Labor has taken aim at the opposition leader over the comments he made during an ABC television interview on Sunday.
"It's not goodies versus baddies, it's baddies versus baddies," he said.
Mr Abbott on Monday dismissed Labor's attack as "hyperventilating".
He says people like British Prime Minister David Cameron and former US president Bill Clinton have used similar language on Syria.
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"I think the odd use of colloquialism is perfectly appropriate if you are trying to explain to the public exactly what the situation is," Mr Abbott told reporters in Sydney.
"One thing I would never do is use a profanity in relation to a very important world power, which as we know the prime minister did after Copenhagen."
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd reportedly described China as "rat f***ers" after the 2009 United Nations climate change summit in the Danish capital.
Mr Abbott described President Bashar al-Assad's Syrian regime as "an abomination", but says the Free Syrian Army rebels is "more or less equally unsavoury".
