Labor leaders have called for a careful reassessment of Australia's alliance with the United States given uncertainty over President-elect Donald Trump's foreign policy.

Key points: Penny Wong says Trump election marks 'change point'

Penny Wong says Trump election marks 'change point' Plibersek warns against blindly following US after Keating calls to 'cut the tag'

Plibersek warns against blindly following US after Keating calls to 'cut the tag' Turnbull, Pyne move to assure Australians alliance will continue

Labor's foreign policy spokeswoman, Penny Wong, said the alliance retained bipartisan support but the election of Mr Trump marked "a change point".

"President Trump obviously said things during the campaign in terms of foreign policy that differ significantly from his predecessor," she said.

"He questioned America's alliances, he raised the prospect of a trade war with China, he has a very different position on climate change and I think it is a sensible thing to have a discussion about how we deal with that."

Senator Wong said it was not unusual for Australian politicians to disagree with US administrations and the Government needed to form an independent foreign policy.

"I simply think it is important for us to have a sensible and adult conversation here about how we continue to assert Australian interests in the context of an alliance framework," she said.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Senator Wong was speaking for the left faction of the Labor Party, which he described as divided on the US alliance.

"You have Penny Wong going in one direction wanting to move away from our strongest, most important, most trusted, most enduring ally," he said.

"On the other hand, you have the Right of the party trying to crab walk back from where she has gone."

Alliance led Australia to make mistakes: Plibersek

The Prime Minister has moved to assure Australians the alliance would remain strong for years to come, describing the US presence in the Asia-Pacific as a foundation of peace and stability.

Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne said Australia had been fighting alongside the US in all major conflicts since 1918 and "that would continue in the future".

"When the United States asks us to assist them around the world, Australia is one of the very few countries to have always done so," he said.

Deputy Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek said the US alliance remained important, but warned against politicians blindly supporting the US without consideration of global impacts.

"The US alliance has always been a strong part of Australia's foreign policy but there have been times when we have made mistakes because of the alliance," she said.

"We shouldn't have supported the invasion of Iraq in the early 2000s and it is absolutely important that we made a decision case-by-case on what is in the Australian interests and the global interest."

Ms Plibersek said Mr Trump's position on territorial claims in the South China Sea was not clear and it would be wise to examine what becomes official policy after the inauguration in January.

"It is very wise for us to take a cautious approach and decide on a case-by-case basis on what is in our national interest and I think that is what Australians expect from us," she said.

Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating last week called on Australia to "cut the tag" with American foreign policy and focus more on building diplomatic relations within Asia.

In an opinion piece for Fairfax, Senator Wong said Mr Turnbull's response to the US election result had been at times reminiscent of the "chest-beating approach" of former prime minister Tony Abbott.

"It is in Australia's interest to continue to assert our values and interests, and we should always be prepared to make clear our disagreement with political leaders who undermine them," she said.

Labor's Defence spokesman, Richard Marles, told Sky News Senator Wong had made it clear the alliance was more important than any one individual.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale moved to suspend standing orders in the Senate last week, urging the Government to reconsider the US alliance.

The party's immigration spokesman, Nick McKim, said Australia could "no longer lock behind the US like a sycophantic little brother or sister".

'We pull our weight', Pyne says

Mr Pyne flagged a potential half-a-trillion-dollar expansion of the US military as a historic business opportunity for the Australian defence industry.

The expansion could involve the creation of 100 new planes, 70 new naval vessels, up to 60,000 new personnel and 12 new marine corps.

Mr Pyne said he was confident Australian businesses could secure work despite Mr Trump's commitments to restore manufacturing jobs at home.

"The opportunities for Australia, because of our very close relationship with the US, are boundless," Mr Pyne said.

"We not only pull our weight in terms of spending, we pull our weight in terms of operations."