PRIME Minister Malcolm Turnbull is facing calls from within his party to give States the ability to raise their own income tax to help pay for new roads and services amid warnings that cities such as Perth face a “population shock”.

WA Liberal senator Dean Smith will join those ringing the alarm bell about the lack of planning for the expected surge in population levels, pointing out that Perth is predicted to more than double in size to 4.3 million residents by 2046.

He said he did not want to see Perth in a situation similar to Sydney and Melbourne, where huge spikes in population were placing a heavy toll on transport infrastructure and State services.

Senator Smith said Perth needed to increase spending on infrastructure over the next three decades from the current level of $4.4 billion to an eventual $9.4 billion a year. “West Australians need to grasp the fact that in 30 years time Perth will become a global city if current rates of population continue and this, in turn, will demand massive new infrastructure spending,” he said.

Senator Smith also argues that the States should be given powers to raise income tax so they can respond faster to local infrastructure pressures.

“Giving the States, for example, access to income tax would ensure that they had the financial means to prioritise and more quickly build new infrastructure rather than having these key decisions being directed from Canberra which is more remote from the grassroots of society,” he said.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said that this year Australia must reduce its intake of migrants where it was in the “national interest” because some cities were overcrowded.

Mr Dutton made the comments in response to a speech by NSW Liberal senator Jim Molan, who warned that cities were unable to absorb current legal migration levels.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott has repeatedly called for immigration rates to be scaled back until Australia’s infrastructure program can “catch up”.

Former Labor foreign minister Bob Carr has called for Australia’s immigration rate to be cut in half. As premier of NSW Mr Carr famously declared Sydney was “full”.

Tensions emerged between Mr Dutton and Mr Turnbull earlier this year after it was reported Mr Dutton had proposed to cut Australia’s immigration rate by 20,000. Mr Turnbull denied the proposal was put forward, but Mr Dutton appeared to maintain discussions had taken place.

Australia had a target to take in 190,000 migrants last financial year but looked set to fall short of that number.

Australia will hit a population of 25 million next month, with most people living in the capital cities.