Absolutely agree. Just looking at the longer term trends over the last 45 years (data sourced from ABS, although bizarrely 2016 census data for areas like Newcastle is really hard to find ), here are some thoughts:
- Perth is growing at a rate that probably two licences should be auctioned. With the transfer of 6MM to FM, I would auction one AM licence on 1116 and auction one FM licence.
- Gold Coast is the other stand out with services not matching population growth. Given the FM congestion, I would look for one of the soon to be abandoned AM frequencies in a nearby solo market for at least one extra station.
- Canberra, I would convert one AM to FM. This effectively means that there is a “standard” ratio of 3 FM to 1 AM in a larger non-capital market.
- Sydney also arguably deserves an extra FM service and with Melbourne’s growth outstripping Sydney, I can’t see it being far behind.
