RDA Illawarra made a submission in response to The 'Our Cities' Discussion Paper. RDA Illawarra's vision in the submission was for a sustainable region with cities and regional centres that offer higher quality of life, socially, economically, and environmentally, through high levels of employment with a highly skilled, adaptable, productive and inclusive community operating in a diverse, vibrant and growing economy.

The submission highlights a range of challenges and opportunities in the region.

A Working Group was established by RDA Illawarra to gather evidence for a strategic direction on how the Illawarra could be part of a High Speed Rail network between Brisbane and Melbourne.

The Working Group consulted with key organisations in the Illawarra, and with the local community to determine the level of need for, and local support for, the inclusion of the Illawarra in a High Speed Rail network.

RDA Illawarra concluded that a case could be made for the inclusion of the area with two viable opportunities:

• Transit point in the Southern Sydney area, with a Park and Ride facility for Illawarra residents; or
• Upgrade the existing Unanderra - Moss Vale rail link to facilitate a connection to a possible high speed link along the Hume Highway corridor

RDA Illawarra supported the concept of a national land freight network which focused not only on current transport and distribution patterns, but is forward-thinking and allows for future growth in the transport logistics sector.

RDA Illawarra also supported the development of a strategy which incorporates long term freight needs and endorsed the discussion paper’s emphasis on including Port Kembla as a nationally significant regional networked port and adding Port Kembla to the national land freight network.