Wollongong Rotary will continue its campaign to keep the Illawarra's aeromedical service based at Albion Park, claiming a move to Nowra would be just as detrimental to the region as a move to Sydney.
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The NSW government has been considering moving the base to Sydney after an independent report in January cited cost savings, but it is believed Nowra is now also a serious contender.
However, Wollongong Rotary president Leigh Robinson said more than 5000 signatures had been collected on a petition to keep the service at Albion Park, and that was the only sensible option.
"Our situation is unchanged - they're still talking about moving it out of the Illawarra, and Nowra is just as bad as Rosehill in terms of distance and flight times," Mr Robinson said.
"It's vital we keep this service based in the Illawarra, which is such a unique region geographically.
"There's limited road access and our roads are too often clogged, especially during holiday periods, which can make it difficult for road ambulances to quickly get to the scene of an incident.
"If the helicopter service is moved - to Sydney or to Nowra - you're looking at another 15 or 20 minutes response time to critical incidents in the Illawarra, which could see lives lost."
Mr Robinson said once Rotary members had collected 10,000 signatures on the petition, it would force a debate in the NSW Parliament.
"This needs to be debated - I've got the feeling the Nowra option is something some bureaucrat has thrown out just to test the waters but they haven't thought it through," he said.
"For instance the medical doctors that man the helicopter come from Sydney - they may be reticent to drive to Nowra for work.
"And all the current paramedics would be unable to man it if it was moved to Nowra, as there's a rule that they have to live within 30 minutes of the base."
Representatives from the region's emergency services - including police, firefighters, nurses, paramedics and lifeguards - will meet at the Albion Park base this morning to call on the NSW government to retain the helicopter in the Illawarra.
Meanwhile, the region's MPs remain divided on the issue.
Kiama MP Gareth Ward has indicated he would consider a move to Nowra a victory, as his priority was keeping the service on the South Coast, and South Coast MP Shelley Hancock was also in favour of such a move.
"I would be supporting Nowra as a preferable location and have made strong representations to the [Health] Minister to this effect," she said.
"... Rather than move the service to Sydney, which would see the creation of a 'Super Helicopter Base', consideration should be given to relocating the aeromedical helicopter further south."
However, Keira MP Ryan Park said any attempt to relocate the service was "unacceptable".
"This service needs to be based near Wollongong," he said, "an area with a high population, which has high-risk industries, which attracts a large number of tourists and is situated between the coast and the escarpment which, unfortunately, leads to a lot of people getting into difficulties."
Shellharbour MP Anna Watson said speculation over a move to Nowra was a tactic by the state government to gauge community reaction.
"If the NSW government succeeds in getting away with re-locating the service to Nowra, the region will inevitably lose the helicopter entirely [to Sydney] in a couple of years' time," she said. "[That's] their long-term objective."
