While Labor's defeat in the 2001 New South Wales election has received much comment an overlooked outcome is the "ghettoisation" of its vote. Labor did not capture a single booth outside of the seat of Monaro. This article argue that this outcome stemmed not fro mrecent organisational and policy failings but rather from trends not decades old. After 1988 few country people voted Labor. For almost 20 years, however, Labor;s plight was disguised by the Coalition's discomfiture in the face of Independents and minor parties. Nevertheless, by 2007 NSW Labor's alienation from rural voters was clearly contributing to the party's problems.