Illawarra mayors have united and vowed to do everything they can to help save the steelworks.
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Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama council chiefs said they would do whatever they could to force governments to use Australian steel on Australian projects and keep the Port Kembla steelworks open.
Shellharbour mayor Marianne Saliba said the "past downturns" in the steelworks had hit Shellharbour hard.
"A lot of the workers come from the Shellharbour area so for us it is very important that we do what we can to maintain those jobs in the community," Ms Saliba said.
"We would encourage the Australian and NSW governments to buy steel locally to ensure jobs are maintained."
Wollongong acting lord mayor Chris Conner said he "fully supported" the community campaign to "save our steel" industry.
A public meeting on Wednesday night resolved to call on all levels of government to mandate 50 per cent of Australian steel in federal and state infrastructure projects.
It also called for an urgent steel summit involving steel producers, unions and federal ministers to prevent the shutdown of steelmaking in Port Kembla.
"It is essential for this community and our local economy to make sure we are doing all we can to maintain the production of steel in our area and open up as many markets as we can either by government regulation or by new ventures," Mr Conner said.
On a ground level, Mr Conner said Wollongong City Council's building tender process contained a score card where high points were given for local content and local employment.
"I will be looking at that and reviewing that with appropriate council officers to see how specific we can make that in the future," he said.
"I want to make sure what we have in place ensures that we are doing all we can to support local business and manufacturing."
Kiama mayor Brian Petschler said he was also "very interested" in the issue and felt confident the council would support a proposal to government "to ensure that locally made steel is as far as possible used in construction in Australia".
"I think our view is that the industry is a traditional and very important one for the region. Providing an appropriate structure can be set up regarding steel prices and the like, I think we would strongly support a 'locally produced, locally used policy'."
South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris said all three councils would be briefed on the campaign to keep the steelworks alive.
"We need them to speak with one voice about getting the government to use Australian steel in Australian projects, and to also do what they can at a local council level," Mr Rorris said.
"We don't have to be talking about huge projects ... symbolism is important. We need them to come on board, we need to all speak with one voice, we don't want any divisions on party lines here."
