What do we gain from this?

From Stuff comes this bit of news:

A city council committee is advancing plans to create a "Christchurch dollar" and wants a meeting with regulators about the concept.

Te Hononga Council – Papatipu Runanga Committee is interested in a community currency for Canterbury and the Treasury and Reserve Bank have been approached about the concept.

The committee is focusing on the Bristol Pound as a potential model. It was introduced in Britain in 2012 and can be spent in Bristol and the County of Avon.

What I ask would we gain if this idea actually was carried out?

"It is ultimately is boosting local economy by creating currency that circulates just within that economy . . . it basically means people are buying and selling within the same place," he said.

"The general studies show that it decreases leakage out of an economy, but it increases the basic economic activity, but at a local level.

So this is another form of the idiot "buy local" idea?

While the idea is doable its not clear that there are any large benefits from it. And if the Christchurch City Council really thinks this the most important thing to deal with in Christchurch right now then they have lost the plot big time!

An interesting question is, Will the government accept Christchurch dollars in payment of taxes? If not then people will have to hold New Zealand dollars anyway and as these dollars do everything the Christchurch dollars would do and buy stuff from other regions of New Zealand and can pay taxes, what if the point of Christchurch dollars? Using New Zealand dollars dominates using Christchurch dollars. Christchurch dollars only seem to increase transaction costs (if only a bit), so what's the point.