Heavily dominated by Illawarra region representatives, the group agreed on objectives and the need to compile information for a detailed proposal to be put to the State and Federal governments.

About a dozen people attended the meeting at the headquarters of NRMA Motoring Services, which is spearheading the campaign.

NRMA director Michael Tynan, who chaired the meeting, said that until now advocates of the motorway extension had been "playing around a bit''.

"We have been asking [the Government], we have been requesting, but now we are getting a lot more serious,'' he said.

"I have been authorised by the board of the NRMA to take it on as a project, so it's all go, go, go.''

Sutherland Shire representatives included Mr Tynan, who is also a prominent motor dealer, Cook MP Scott Morrison and Cronulla MP Malcolm Kerr.

Others at the meeting included the state manager of the Australian Trucking Association, Jill Lewis; chief executive of Port Kembla Corporation, Dom Figliomeni; national manager (transport) of the Tourism and Transport Forum, Kary Peterson; president of the Illawarra Business Chamber, Les Dion, and executive director of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, Brendon Lyon.

Also present were the director, corporate relations, at the University of Wollongong, Craig Peden; Kiama MP Matt Brown; assistant Deputy Mayor of Shoalhaven City Council, Andrew Guile, and Princes Highway Taskforce member Patricia Knight.

Officials of the NSW Business Chamber and the State MP for Shellharbour, Lylea McMahon, accepted, but were unable to attend.

Mr Morrison said that while the proposal might be strongly supported by groups south of Sydney, it was also very much in the shire's interests.

"It will be the shire that suffers as a result of the increasingly heavy traffic coming out of Port Kembla,'' he said.