I believe that when National Geographic says “Seafaring peoples” they mean people who built a civilization around the idea of sea exploration and trading and things of that nature. When the Aborigines migrated to Australia and crossed the sea, they were just Migrating, and never really developed an Industry and Empire based around Sea Voyages. Yeah they have their fishing boats and small distance boats, but it was the Phoenicians who first really started expanding that stuff. According to most scientific and anthropological texts most cultures just stayed “Local”, even though some evidence provides for native Europeans and Chinese peoples making sea voyages, but nothing in substantial Numbers and none of them made an empire out of these chance voyages.

However I’d also like to point out the theory that some geologists and environmental Scientists, (The REAL ones, not the global warming disaster freaks) believe that around the previous ice ages the sea levels dropped low enough that the Philippines, Asia, and all of that area were connected by land. So its very possible a number of the population may have migrated there during that time, but there was also the portion that arrived via the sea. So I believe that to be the MAIN difference between those two cultures.
And to answer your question about the Glaciation on Australia and what not, according to this article I’m reading on Wiki about Australia, there was a period of Glacial erosion about 280 MYA and that half the continent was covered in them. So maybe your informant was wrong or or misinformed. Nothing wrong with that, I had no idea Australia ever had glaciers until I looked it up just now. So I hope my mini college thesis was of assistance to you, and if any of my info is wrong I would LOVE if somebody could correct me :)

They use evidence out of context! They even say the discoverer of java man admitted it was wrong and was an “accident” which is not true! Java man was a hoax and was exposed by the scientific community.

It pisses me off knowing these m*rons are allowed to lie and brain wash a generation of kids unfortunate enough to grow up in a Christian family and in doing so are protected by freedom of speech.

I’m not trying to be pompous, please reply if you can explain.
I know the most common view is they traveled across from Timor. Some think during the last period of glaciation, but through researching expected events of 2012 I learned that Australia is the only piece of land on earth with no glacial scarring or drop stone markings.