The meeting was arranged by Illawarra-based Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and follows on from a submission she made to a defence force white paper on Australia's future defence capabilities.

With Sydney's Garden Island becoming less and less suitable as a long-term option for Fleet Base East, Sen Fierravanti-Wells suggested Port Kembla could become the home for all or part of the fleet.

At the meeting were Labor MPs Sharon Bird and Noreen Hay, Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery and council general manager David Farmer, RDA Illawarra chief executive Natalie Burroughs, Illawarra Business Chamber chief executive Debra Murphy, NSW Ports' Dom Figliomeni and others.

The general consensus was in favour of presenting a united Illawarra front on the issue, similar to what was done last year with the region's wish-list for the state government's Rebuilding NSW fund.

A group will prepare a submission for the government and lobby state and federal figures.

Sen Fierravanti-Wells said this next step was also about sending the message that this was what the Illawarra as a whole wanted.

"I put the submission in but now it needs to be an Illawarra proposal," she said.

"I want to be part of that process but this needs to be an Illawarra push with the Illawarra stakeholders all on the same page on this important issue."

She said the aim was not necessarily to get the government to commit to moving the navy but to get Port Kembla listed as a serious alternative for the first time.

"It's very important that we get Port Kembla mentioned as a priority area or one of the important options for relocation," she said.

Cunningham MP Ms Bird agreed with the need to put Port Kembla forward for consideration.

"We've got to get it on the agenda," she said.

"We've got be there as part of the story, so that any decision-making that happens, at the very least there is a serious look at the potential of Port Kembla and what it might be able to offer.

"At the end of the day it creates jobs, that's really what it is about for me and for a lot of my colleagues.

"We want to see new industries in the Illawarra that create good quality long-term jobs."

South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris also saw jobs advantages in the proposal.

"If there are serious proposals about bringing employment potential and growth and increasing the uses of Port Kembla then obviously that's something that we want to be involved in," he said.

ghumphries@fairfaxmedia.com.au