I caved in and requested QF for an exit row at lunchtime. With my luck I just did not want to be faced with the possibility of spending 9:30 hours behind a chronic recliner in WHY. A couple of hours later I noticed a seat allocation of 45B for the flight.

Thanks for the offer Ross but I have a few spare express arrival cards. I was not aware if BNE had express arrivals. No chipped passport yet as the current passport has another 20 months to go before expiry although it may not last that long with all the stamps I have accumulated.