He has used the blog on his official website to explain how increased farming of ­industrial hemp could benefit regions and why a ban on producing hemp seeds for consumption in Australia should be lifted.

“Industrial hemp is one of the most versatile and eco-friendly crops available,” Mr Fitzgibbon wrote.  “Numerous biodegradable products can be made from industrial hemp including textiles, building materials, paper, a range of composite materials and fuel. 

“Industrial hemp grows without herbicides, fungicides or pesticides and is a great rotation crop.”

Mr Fitzgibbon’s blog comes after a group of Dungog farmers announced plans in November to establish a hemp processing plant in the old Maxwell’s Timber Mill.

The group, led by farmer Bob Doyle, will lodge an application with Dungog Shire Council to allow the farmers to produce high-strength hemp planks at the site to be used for making pallets.

The venture would be a boost for the town’s economy.

Numerous farmers in the Dungog area already have the licence required to ­grow hemp, which is related to the illegal ­marijuana plant.

While both plants are a form of cannabis, hemp does not have the same concentration of the chemical THC as marijuana, which affects people’s cognitive function.

“Hemp lacking the chemical which gives people the high has many applications and is a sustainability-friendly crop,” Mr Fitzgibbon said. 

In his blog, he noted that studies had shown that industrial hemp was safe to produce and consume and was not the same as using the illicit drug marijuana.

“There seems to be a lack of information and a misunderstanding of the differences between the high THC marijuana and industrial hemp,  which is inhibiting the discussion on lifting the ban on the production of ­industrial hemp seeds as a food source in Australia,” he wrote.