In the interest of public safety, do not let this happen.

Poles rusting from the inside out seem to pose a significantly larger problem in the USA then it does here is Australia and in the instances it has occurred here, at least on one occasion it involved poles imported from the USA. This problem related to simple pipe poles which were simply not galvanised internally, basically a black steel pole which just had an exterior powder coated finish.

You most likely understand that there is an Australian standard for hot dip galvanizing  (see here) but are you aware of the standard for powder coating steel poles? This is not as simple as it seams and in many instances powder coating straight over H.D.G. (hot dip galvanised) can have a detrimental effect. Have a few spare minutes, take  a read of the article from the Galvanisers Association of Australia.