Toward Programme
The economics of economic security
Lowy Institute Institutional·2026-09-03EnergyP1: Resource SovereigntyP3: Industrial BaseP5: Strategic Decoupling
Why it matters
The article frames Australia's aluminium-smelting capacity as a strategic asset beyond comparative advantage, embedding it in geoeconomic competition. Retention of domestic smelting capability strengthens Australian industrial sovereignty and reduces dependence on Chinese processing of critical advanced-manufacturing inputs, directly supporting Pillar 3 (Industrial Base) and Pillar 5 (Decoupling).
Pillar tags and the significance note are AI-classified (Claude) and human-curated. The platform's own preparedness scores never move on a single story without a separate human approval.