A significant majority of Australians believe it is critical for the country to have domestic manufacturing capability for its own vital supplies, according to new polling data from the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA). China’s growing assertiveness in the region, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to overwhelming concern in the community about Australia’s sovereign manufacturing capability. The polling data from over 1,000 Australians, collected by Dynata in early March, found that 72 percent believed it was “very important” that Australia could manufacture its own vital supplies. Almost 80 percent of respondents were also concerned that foreign-made, critical supplies, such as masks and rapid antigen tests, had been difficult to source because they were made overseas. “The prime minister has been right to identify sovereign manufacturing capability as a critical area of public policy, but it is almost impossible to make anything in Australia today because …