Australian prime minister John Howard comes to Ireland the week after next but his visit will not be confined to meetings with the Taoiseach and other political figures. With a big reform of Australian media ownership laws on the cards, he has also scheduled a meeting with Independent News & Media chief executive Sir Anthony O'Reilly. Mr Howard and Sir Anthony have known each other for 20 years, but the meeting will be particularly timely given Independent's 40.5 per cent stake in one of Australia's biggest media group's, APN, which also has a leading position in the New Zealand media.

In March, Mr Howard's communications minister Helen Coonan signalled a relaxation of the rules on foreign media ownership in Australia.

While Mr Howard has said that he will not proceed without broad agreement on the changes in the media and the community, reform of the media laws has been on his agenda since he came to office in 1996. Control of the Australian senate last year freed his hand to move forward.

In a move that could prompt a big shake-up of the Australian media, Mr Howard proposes to ease the limits on cross-media ownership that prevent investors owning newspapers and television stations in the same city. This would be of interest to Independent, which has a big stake in Australian radio.

Sir Anthony has long sought to extend his reach in Australia and he was an unsuccessful bidder in 1991 for control of John Fairfax Holdings, publisher of the Sydney Morning Herald and the Australian Financial Review.

The Independent chairman, Dr Brian Hillery, and the head of Independent's Irish unit, Vincent Crowley, will also meet Mr Howard. They will have plenty to talk about.