Image copyright EPA Image caption Media access to Manus Island or Nauru is rare. Here asylum seekers line up along a fence at Manus camp 
 
 A retired judge in Australia has offered to swap places with a refugee and live the rest of his life in one of the country's offshore detention camps. 
 
 Jim Macken, who is 88, said he had written to Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to offer a "body swap". 
 
 "I understand this is an unusual request but I offer it in complete sincerity," Mr Macken wrote. 
 
 Australia processes migrants and refugees on the Pacific island of Nauru and on Manus island, Papua New Guinea. 
 
 The government has faced heavy criticism over conditions at the detention centres, both of which are run by private companies. 
 
 Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Nauru, the world's smallest republic, holds one of Australia's migrant camps 
 
 In the letter, seen by Australian media, Mr Macken said: "My reason for making this proposal is simple. I can no longer remain silent as innocent men, women and children are being held in appalling circumstances on Manus Island and Nauru. 
 
 "It is even worse that they are being held in these dangerous and inhospitable conditions in order to ensure no other asylum seekers and refugees attempt to come to Australia for protection. 
 
 "The Australian government is essentially treating refugees in these camps as human shields and this is utterly immoral. As this is being done in my name I cannot remain silent. 
 
 "I offer this proposal as a way forward for at least one refugee. This would allow one person currently held on Manus Island or Nauru the right to be an Australian citizen. I would consider it a privilege to live out my final years in either Nauru or Manus Island in his or her stead." 
 
 Media caption Life in the Nauru detention centre 
 
 Mr Macken reportedly offered to relinquish his Australian citizenship if necessary. 
 
 A spokeswoman for Mr Dutton said the minister's office was checking to see if it had received the letter, which was sent a month ago, and declined to comment further. 
 
 Mr Macken also wrote to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Labor party leader Bill Shorten, urging them to "err on the side of compassion and justice" and end offshore processing. 
 
 A spokesman for the prime minister declined to comment. 
 
 Speaking to the Guardian, Mr Macken said he had "nothing to lose" by making his offer. 
 
 "If it gets just one refugee off one of those islands, and gives them a chance at a life in Australia, I'm prepared to do it," he said. 
 
 He said he wasn't seeking publicity and would be happy to undertake the exchange without notifying the public. 
 
 Mr Macken was a barrister and union organiser until his retirement in 1989. He was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 2003. 
 
 Australia and asylum 
 
 Image copyright Amnesty International Image caption A photo taken by Amnesty International shows the inside of a tent housing asylum seekers in Nauru 
 
 The number of asylum seekers travelling to Australia by boat rose sharply in 2012 and early 2013. Scores of people have died making the journey. 
 
 To stop the influx, the government adopted tough measures intended as a deterrent. 
 
 Everyone who arrives is detained. Under the policy, asylum seekers are processed offshore at centres on Nauru and Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. 
 
 The government has also adopted a policy of tow-backs, or turning boats around. 
 
 Read more: Why are asylum seekers so controversial in Australia? 

 ‘I would consider it a privilege to live out my final years in either Nauru or Manus Island in his or her stead,’ Jim Macken says 
 
 An 88-year-old retired judge has offered to swap places with a refugee held in offshore detention, volunteering to live the rest of his life on Manus or Nauru in exchange for one refugee being sent to Australia. 
 
 Jim Macken, a former justice of the industrial court of New South Wales, union official, and a member of the Order of Australia, has written to the immigration minister, Peter Dutton, offering a “body swap” with a refugee held on one of Australia’s two offshore detention islands. 
 
 Jim Macken, a former justice of the industrial court of New South Wales and union official, criticised Labor’s support for ‘shameful’ offshore detention 
 
 Macken has conceded his proposal “could be considered too novel for government” but says it is “perfectly possible”. 
 
 “I understand this is an unusual request but I offer it in complete sincerity. My reason for making this proposal is simple. I can no longer remain silent as innocent men, women and children are being held in appalling circumstances on Manus Island and Nauru. 
 
 “It is even worse that they are being held in these dangerous and inhospitable conditions in order to ensure no other asylum seekers and refugees attempt to come to Australia for protection. The Australian government is essentially treating refugees in these camps as human shields and this is utterly immoral. As this is being done in my name I cannot remain silent. 
 
 “I offer this proposal as a way forward for at least one refugee. This would allow one person currently held on Manus Island or Nauru the right to be an Australian citizen. I would consider it a privilege to live out my final years in either Nauru or Manus Island in his or her stead.” 
 
 He has also offered to relinquish his citizenship if necessary. 
 
 He told the Guardian he was prepared to be placed in detention on Nauru and Manus and stay there until he died. “I’ve got nothing to lose. If it gets just one refugee off one of those islands, and gives them a chance at a life in Australia, I’m prepared to do it.” 
 
 He said he wasn’t seeking publicity and the “exchange” could happen without any public notification. 
 
 Macken sent his letter to Dutton last month. He has not received a reply. 
 
 #CloseTheCamps rallies across Australia call for Nauru and Manus centres to shut Read more 
 
 He has also written to Malcolm Turnbull and the Labor leader, Bill Shorten, urging them to abandon offshore processing. “I would urge you to become the good leader you could be and err on the side of compassion and justice,” he wrote to the prime minister. 
 
 Macken, a former barrister and union organiser, was a judge on the NSW industrial court for 15 years until 1989 and was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 2003. He is a life member of the Australian Labor party and of the union movement. But he is fiercely condemnatory of Labor’s support for offshore processing. 
 
 “I believe you have considerable power that could be deployed to end this shameful situation once and for all,” he wrote in his letter to Shorten. 
 
 Dutton’s office has been contacted for comment.
– Retired Australian judge Jim Macken thinks his county's system of offshore refugee detention is shameful—and he has offered to trade places with somebody ensnared in it. Macken, 88, says he has written to immigration minister Peter Dutton and offered a "body swap" with somebody in a camp in Nauru or on Indonesia's Manus Island, the Guardian reports. "I understand this is an unusual request but I offer it in complete sincerity," Macken wrote. "My reason for making this proposal is simple. I can no longer remain silent as innocent men, women, and children are being held in appalling circumstances on Manus Island and Nauru." "It is even worse that they are being held in these dangerous and inhospitable conditions in order to ensure no other asylum seekers and refugees attempt to come to Australia for protection," he wrote. "The Australian government is essentially treating refugees in these camps as human shields and this is utterly immoral." Macken wrote that he would consider it a "privilege" to live out his final years in one of the camps in return for a refugee becoming an Australian citizen. He says he isn't making the offer for publicity and will happily make the swap without it being publicly announced, the BBC reports. (Australia has been accused of covering up "routine dysfunction and cruelty" at the Nauru camp, including hundreds of incidents involving children.)