The Council last night voted 6 to 6 and therefore in favour of a motion that indicates the preferred location for the new Busselton Hospital is the current site.
The debate was an emotional one, which came down to the wire, with Shire President Wes Hartley casting the deciding vote in favour of the motion.
The motion moved by Cr Tuffin also directs the Shire President to write to the Premier and inform him of the Councils position and ask him to reconsider his Governments position to build the new hospital at Vasse.
The motion follows the decision by the Minister for Health, Jim McGinty, to bypass Council and use his powers under the Public Works Act to have the hospital built at Vasse.
Cr Tuffin believes that by "Throwing the weight of the Shire into the equation must have a marked influence on the Premier." This will not be the first time the Shire has written directly to the Premier concerning the location of the hospital. In November 2006 the then Shire President, Kevin Douglas, wrote to the Premier. The response was one in favour of the Vasse site and it seems unlikely that State Government would changed its position on the matter this time.