Whyalla mayor Jim Pollock will plead to both the state and federal governments to consider the steel city's potential as a base for building Australia's next fleet of submarines.
"This is a desperate and concerning time for our regions and we as community leaders think that we need to at least stimulate discussion with the government in an attempt to create employment opportunities," Mr Pollock said.
"We have a perfect opportunity to make a strong contribution towards the building of submarines in our region."
The federal government is currently looking at bids from companies in Japan, Germany and France to build the submarines through a 'competitive evaluation process' and is set to choose a design by the end of the year.
Each company is submitting construction details including building in Australia, overseas or a hybrid of overseas and local construction.
The successful bidder in the Future Submarine Project, expected to be worth $50 billion, can partner with Australian firms including the government-owned shipbuilder ASC, based in Port Adelaide.
An Australian build would involve various Australian firms contributing elements to the final product that would be assembled by ASC.
But Mr Pollock wants to see the bulk of the construction take place in Whyalla.
"If ever the state and federal governments were serious and genuine about supporting regional South Australia, now is the time and this is the opportunity to do it."
- Mayor Jim Pollock
"We have an abundance of highly-skilled and capable heavy-engineering companies, [including] the best steel making company, OneSteel, in our backyard," he said.
"There is every practical reason this could succeed, there has been plenty of major construction undertaken here in Whyalla."
Mr Pollock said the proposal had just been floated and needed further thought, however, showed the council was proactively responding to the region's desperate economy.
"If ever the state and federal governments were serious and genuine about supporting regional South Australia, now is the time and this is the opportunity to do it," he said.
"We'll be taking this to the highest level."
Mr Pollock has the backing of Port Augusta and Port Pirie's mayors who developed the idea together.
Port Augusta mayor Sam Johnson acknowledged the idea came from off the radar but said it deserved to be seriously considered and not immediately shot down.
"In these economic times, anything and everything is on the table," Mr Johnson said.
"Arguably, it is a left-of-centre idea and it came out of a discussion we had where we threw it around the table as a joke initially but when you start to pull the concept apart, there is a debate that needs to be had.
"I hope the government will give it some proper debate and air time rather than just saying it's not economically viable.
"If that is their response, then fine, give me the figures."
Mr Johnson said the state government could give the successful bidder payroll tax exemption to make the region an even cheaper place to do business.
"The state government could turn around and say 'whoever is going to build these submarines, as long as they build them in Whyalla, we'll give them payroll tax exemption," he said.
"All of a sudden, Whyalla becomes very attractive."
The Upper Spencer Gulf Common Purpose Group, led by Mr Pollock, will now consult with stakeholders including politicians, Regional Development Whyalla and Eyre Peninsula and Arrium.
