Labor urges foreign policy values focus

Federal Labor has flagged the need for Australia's values and national interest to have greater weight in foreign policy decisions.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said Australia should move beyond just a transactional approach to foreign policy.

"A transformational foreign policy is one that pursues our national interests and is informed by our values," she said in a speech to the Griffith Asia Institute.

Senator Wong said just as fairness and equity were important at a national level they should also be "built into the international institutions to maintain global stability".

She accused the Turnbull government of being lead footed in its response to changes in the strategic outlook.

"The alternative to a values-inspired foreign policy is a purely power-based foreign policy, where, far from materialising hope, the 'dog eat dog' law of the jungle destroys it," Senator Wong said.

"In the world of the deal, 'beggar thy neighbour' might look like a smart way to do business."

However, Senator Wong maintained it was not a recipe for stability.

"The twentieth century is littered with examples of the failure of power-based foreign policy," she said.

The Turnbull government is expected to release its foreign policy white paper - the first in 13 years - in August or September.