The federal government has slammed the Wikileaks website for publishing a US diplomatic cable that details 23 Australians believed to have links to Yemeni terrorism.

The latest tranche of Wikileaks diplomatic cables contains one from the US embassy in Canberra that recommends 11 Australians be placed on a no-fly list and a further 12 on another "selectee" watch list.

Attorney-General Robert McClelland on Tuesday broke the government's long-standing policy of not commenting on Wikileaks to condemn the cable's release unredacted.

"I note that on occasions in the past, Wikileaks has decided to redact identifying features where security operations or safety could be put at risk," Mr McClelland said.

"This has not occurred in this case.