Outside the mainstream of literary production, ethnic minority writings can be perceived either as framing it or as constituting (in Jacques Derrida's phrase) a dangerous supplement. What happens to Australian literature when it is supplemented dangerously by a heterogeneous collection of writings variously described as migrant, ethnic minority or multicultural? Is ethnic difference as significant a factor in the critical interpretation of texts as gender and social class are now recognized to be? Might the discourses of multiculturalism be deployed strategically to construct a counter-public sphere?.