Australians have good reason to be wary of proposed counter-terrorism laws and should oppose measures limiting civil liberties according to Charles Sturt University (CSU) political philosopher Dr Piero Moraro.

Dr Moraro is a lecturer at CSU's School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Bathurst and a member of the Centre for Applied Philosophy and Public Ethics (CAPPE).

"The Prime Minister Tony Abbott has spoken of a threat Australia is facing in connection with the civil war in Syria. Yet, it is not clear how what is happening in Syria can affect us here, and most of all, how the changes he has proposed will make safer," said Dr Moraro.

Concerned about security threat posed by Australians fighting in civil conflicts Iraq and Syria, the Government is proposing to strengthen legislation to make it easier to prosecute foreign fighters.

Changes include making it illegal to travel in areas where terrorist organisations are conducting hostile activities unless there's a legitimate purpose, and lowering the threshold for arrest without warrant for terrorism offences.

Dr Moraro describes these proposed changes as very disturbing.

 "The main reason for concern is that they target a central element of any democratic system, namely the idea of a fair trial based on the presumption of innocence, which is also stated in article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights," he said.

"What the Australian Government seeks to do is to question the assumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.

"We have seen the same script in the United States and the United Kingdom in the past ten years where draconian laws, allegedly introduced to 'fight terror', have been instead routinely used domestically to cull social protest. We must keep in mind that these laws make not only terrorists, but all of us, more vulnerable to the state's power.

"We should also question the timing of this decision. Perhaps the Coalition is aiming to divert attention away from the criticisms it faces concerning the treatment of asylum seekers and the proposed new Budget.

"Without a clear explanation of why our civil liberties have to be further curtailed to avoid some vague threat, Australians should remain wary of these proposed changes."