As a lot of core broadcasting infrastructure nears the end of its lifespan in Australia and New Zealand, decisions need to be agreed upon about their replacement and future.

Last week Radioinfo spoke with John Sandles who for 35 years has looked after the Murradoc Hill site in Geelong, Victoria that houses the mast and transmitters for two commercial and two community stations in the region. Some of the transmitters have parts that are now obsolete, and in one instance have lasted well beyond their life expectancy due to John’s care. All the stations went in together to pay for four new transmitters knowing that the cost in bulk, plus labour, was far cheaper now than if an emergency occurred and one needed replacement individually.

Over in New Zealand a similar situation is occurring with two RNZ AM transmission masts that sit on either side of Auckland’s Northwestern Motorway in need of replacement. The one on the southern side is 70 years old, the northern side, 91. Having also recently removed a mast at Stoke, aged 75, RNZ said it was not safe to allow it to stay up indefinitely, replacing it would be an expensive exercise to allow a frequency to continue that is no longer needed and not a good use of public money.

Eight stations are on the northern mast – Newstalk ZB, Radio Waatea, Humm, BBC World Service, Chinese Voices, Rhema, Radio Tarana and Radio Samoa. The southern mast has RNZ National, Parliament, APNA, Ake 1179, Gold Sport AM and Sport Nation and 531PI.

Sources at RNZ told Shayne Currie (subscription required) that they may only replace the northern mast, with RNZ National and Parliament moving over potentially at the expense of a couple of current tenant stations. RNZ might be prepared to build a new southern mast but only if those tenants agree to pay increased fees.