CLOSURE OF HAZELWOOD: STAKEHOLDERS REACT
* "For many families in the Latrobe Valley, there won't be a tougher day than this." - Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.
* "The closure of Hazelwood will not affect the security of Victoria's electricity supply, as the state has multiple sources of generation from coal, gas and wind and can source power from other states if needed." - Victorian Energy Minister Lily D'Ambrosio.
* "This is a very, very tough time for the valley." - Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
* "Our sympathies go out to the workers and to their families ." - Federal Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg
* "This is bad for jobs, bad for households, bad for business and bad for Victoria." - Victorian opposition treasury spokesman Michael O'Brien.
* "My family have worked in the Latrobe Valley power industry for decades. I know that the valley will be gutted with this announcement." - Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy.
* "Coal is over. The Hazelwood decision reinforces that." - Australian Greens Climate Energy & Energy spokesperson Adam Bandt
* "The mood is sombre." - Morwell Newsagency owner Ray Burgess.
* "There will be a huge impact on the local economy - they are reasonably paid and they are the ones who go out for tea, have coffee, buy new cars and build new houses." - CFMEU Mining and Energy Victorian President Trevor Williams.
* "We do not want to see La Trobe Valley communities ending up like Detroit, ending up ghost towns." - Victorian Trades Hall Council Secretary Luke Hilakari.
* "This is a key moment in a transition that is already well underway - the switch from dirty energy to clean energy - and Australia's energy policy is now at a fork in the road." - Australian Conservation Foundation CEO Kelly O'Shanassy
* "The fate of our energy system and regional communities like the Latrobe Valley is not being determined in Australia, but instead by foreign corporations and governments." - Environment Victoria CEO Mark Wakeham.
* "The entire Valley's population of 125,000 will benefit once Hazelwood retires and clean energy like solar and wind take its place." - Environmental Justice Australia spokeswoman Nicola Rivers.
* "Power industry leaders need to open their wallets to help these communities." - Victorian Council of Social Service CEO Emma King.
* "This is not a campaign win for any particular group, it's a historical fact and it's a business decision made by a foreign company, simple as that." - Voices of the Valley president Wendy Farmer.
* "If Latrobe founder and engineer John Monash were alive today he would be saddened by the news of the closure." - Former Deputy Prime Minister Tim Fischer.
* "Like a car, the older these power plants get, the more it costs to keep them running and the less reliable they become." - Clean Energy Council Chief Executive Kane Thornton.
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