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THE Greens this week will introduce a private member's bill for a public interest test to be applied when there are changes in control of major media companies.

As the government considers its media policy, which will include a public interest test, strongly favoured by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, the Greens said their bill would be based on recommendations from the government's convergence review and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

Greens spokesman on communications Scott Ludlam said what was happening in the case of Gina Rinehart was ''one individual buying a controlling stake in a media organisation with the clear purpose of shutting down dissent against her other corporate and financial interests and deliberately stifling debate about issues of science, of fairness, of great community interest''.

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Matters to be taken into account in the Greens' public interest test would include the effect of a change on diversity of ownership and the likely impact on editorial independence, the free expression of opinion, and the fair and accurate presentation of news.

Asked about the impact if Ms Rinehart effectively took control of Fairfax, Foreign Minister Bob Carr predicted a ''degradation of the quality of those mastheads.

''I think Australians would be entitled to be very, very concerned. I think it would be impossible to separate her position as a controlling influence on the board from the way the paper behaves. I think the independence of Fairfax, which has been its glory, its boast, its pride, would be diminished,'' he told the ABC.

Meanwhile the debate over the government's media policy could be influenced by information revealed in the Federal Court case brought against Speaker Peter Slipper by staffer James Ashby, with suggestions that Mr Ashby connived with News Ltd and politicians. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said yesterday he categorically rejected that the Ashby case was ''some kind of a Coalition stitch-up''.

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Fresh focus on media changes