Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the prospects for the Australian economy laid out in the intergenerational report should be viewed as a “warning sign”.

Speaking at the Australian Financial Review’s Business Summit, Chalmers said the nation should be aiming to “do better” than the long term economic growth forecasts in the 2023 report, and nothing was preordained.

Real GDP is projected to grow by an average of 2.2 per cent per year over the next 40 years compared to 3.1 per cent over the past four decades, the IGR report says, reflecting slower productivity and population growth, and reduced workforce participation as demographics skew older.

“We kind of get to decide collectively – not government on its own or business on its own – but collectively we get to decide whether we’re okay with those kinds of levels of growth,” he said on Monday.

“I think we can do better.

“And this decade is going to be the one that matters.”

The treasurer also outlined four policy priority areas aimed at fuelling growth and driving dynamism in the domestic economy.

This included streamlining the environmental approvals process and “sensible changes” to the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax.

“We agree there is a need to update Australia’s offshore regulatory gas arrangements and broader environmental approval processes,” he said.

By investing in better data and “clearer priorities”, he said new oil and gas projects will get “faster yesses and faster nos”.

The government will also introduce financial sector regulatory initiatives grid modelled on a system in the United Kingdom that is aimed at “co-ordinating regulatory effort”.

And close to 500 nuisance tariffs will be scrapped in the new financial year in a bid to make it easier to do business and boost productivity by cutting costs and reducing red tape.

– AAP