A man getting a Southern Cross tattoo. Picture: Troy Bendeich Source: news.com.au

The filmmaker, who has been chosen as the Northern Territory's nomination for Australian of the Year, wants people to spend Australia Day reflecting on the symbolic significance of the national icon.

"Aboriginal people have used the Southern Cross for the last 40,000 years as a beacon guiding them to travel through country for survival, and I'm starting to see that star system symbol being used as a very racist nationalistic emblem - and that is seriously worrying me,'' Thornton said

"We don't want to turn the Southern Cross into a swastika - that's bloody important.

"We should think about that on Australia Day and the bigger issue of what it represents, why is it happening.''

A contender for 2010 Australian of the Year, Thornton said the accolade should be given to someone who saves lives, and not someone who "just asks questions''.

"I've got Buckley's chance of winning it,'' he said.

"I'm just really happy to win the Territory side of it and go to Canberra and have a beer with the PM - that'll be pretty cool.''

Winning numerous Australian and international awards for his debut feature film, Samson and Delilah, Thornton said the film showed there was a darker side to central Australia.

"A lot of people around the world tell me they have been to Alice Springs and have seen the incredible landscape, but never knew about the sort of slight tragedy in that landscape, so (the film) really did open up a lot of eyes and minds and thoughts.''

Thornton is currently working on a three-hour ABC documentary series about contemporary Aboriginal art and writing a draft for a new feature film.