Hazelwood power plant to shut in March 2017

The Hazelwood coal mine will shut in March next year.

About 1000 workers were told on Thursday morning they’d be left without a job.

Ray Burgess runs the Morwell newsagency and told Neil Mitchell the town had been bracing for the worst.

‘It’s a sombre mood, everyone is waiting to hear the outcome of the closure,’ he said.

‘We are all hoping the shut down would happen in stages, that’s not the word around town.

‘It’s going to be a big whack to us.’

Caller Ken Dunne, who just finished nightshift at Hazelwood and has worked at the mine for 36 years, called in to speak with Neil Mitchell.

‘I think we are pretty much gutted,’ he said.

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