"A year or so ago, I noted that a major Australasian airline keeps its landing lights on all the time, even on the ramp, at a very low power, presumably for the same reason."
This is not a procedure, but, I hear, a quirk of the electrical system on the 747, Hew. Normally, in flight, there is a low voltage constantly applied to the landing lights to keep the lamps warm, with the landing lights in the OFF position. However, in certain configurations of power on the ground, the lamps also illuminate(using this same low voltage source). Unfortunately, I don't have any detailed wiring diagrams with me at the moment, so I can't tell you exactly what triggers the on-ground lamp illumination. It has something to do with either the Ground Service or Ground Handling Busses (when no power is on the Main AC Busses).
Rgds.
Q.