More than 100 million frequent flyer points accrued by jetsetting politicians could be donated to charity, but Qantas is standing in the way.

Charity groups have called for the points to be donated if they were being left unused.

It follows a recent condemnation of Tasmanian MP Duncan Kerr for suggesting he would use frequent flyer points accumulated through publicly-funded trips for personal travel.

A spokeswoman for the Make-A-Wish Foundation said they would be delighted to receive the points. “We send about 200 children a year on trips interstate and overseas, so it would be a great help,” Allison Brown said.

But Qantas will not budge. A spokesman for the airline said Qantas would not enter into discussions at a corporate or government level, because the loyalty program was designed to benefit individuals.

He said there would be a minefield of tax problems if the points were able to be transferred between people and organizations.