Treasurer Scott Morrison has moved to reassure US investors – and Australian mums and dads – that Australia is not headed towards a housing market crash, arguing house prices are high but their value is still "real".

And in a speech in New York to investors overnight, Mr Morrison pushed back at a recent warning from the International Monetary Fund about particularly high levels of household debt in Australia by pointing to a series of measures taken by prudential regulator APRA to constrain access to credit.

He outlined three major risks to the Australian economy – household debt; a rise in Chinese debt and a subsequent slowing of growth in that country; and the risk of high levels of federal government debt.

Mr Morrison renewed his push for tax cuts for companies with a turnover of more than $50 million a year – which was blocked by the Senate – arguing that, "across the globe, the principle of cutting business taxes to drive growth and investment is the emerging economic consensus".