Next week, the Dalai Lama - the 71-year-old spiritual leader and campaigner for Tibetan autonomy - arrives in Australia to begin an 11-day tour, which will have him criss-crossing the country to give a series of speeches. And while the media and the Dalai Lama's many supporters in Australia are salivating at the prospect of the arrival of a man they regard as a symbol of world peace, for Australia's political leaders, this is one celebrity visitor they are not too keen to meet. Over the past month, both Prime Minister John Howard and Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd have been decidedly cagey and confused when asked this simple question: will you meet the Dalai Lama when he's in your neighbourhood? Mr Howard's position appears to be that, if he has time, he will do so. He says he is looking at his diary, but has given himself a way out by arguing that he 'can't have a situation where you're always meant to meet anybody who is coming to this country'. Mr Howard, who has assiduously cultivated closer strategic and economic relations with China over the past five years - but who met the Dalai Lama in 1996 - says that his decision will not be influenced by warnings issued this month by Beijing. The Chinese government urged Australia's political leaders to 'stay on high alert' against action aimed at unsettling Chinese unity. But while Mr Howard has been treading delicately, the normally sure-footed opposition leader Mr Rudd has appeared all at sea on the question of whether to meet the Dalai Lama. Mr Rudd, who has in the past fended off accusations that, because of his long standing links to China, he is too influenced by Beijing, initially said that he had 'politely declined' a meeting. What a hypocrite, cried Mr Howard, because in 2002 Mr Rudd had criticised Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer for not meeting the spiritual leader. Once he sensed that Mr Howard had snookered him, Mr Rudd did a very quick about-turn and decided that he would follow the prime minister's lead - and check his diary. But he doesn't sound overly enthusiastic about the idea, if one exchange with ABC Radio on May 17 is anything to go by. Mr Rudd was asked when he planned to sit down with the Dalai Lama. 'We'll sort all that, we'll sort all that out and we'll attend to all that in due course,' he replied. But it's not going to be easy to set up the meeting, according to Mr Rudd: 'It's a question of sorting out the detailed logistics of all of that. And if all that sorts itself out then that'll be fine,' he said. There can be no doubt that, despite the protests to the contrary from both Mr Howard and Mr Rudd, the Dalai Lama's visit presents a diplomatic headache. Australia is in China's good books these days, in contrast with Japan and the US, and that's an advantage which no Australian politician wants to relinquish. If Mr Howard and Mr Rudd do end up shaking hands with the Dalai Lama next week, you can be sure of one thing - their advisers will be on the phone to Beijing to assure the Chinese that their bosses haven't suddenly fallen in love with the idea of an autonomous Tibet. Greg Barns is a political commentator in Australia and a former Australian government adviser