He was one of the founders of Brown and Hatton, a meat distribution company and helped create the Pork and Bacon Marketing Council.

Following initial reports in The Sun, Murray admitted during a 60 Minutes interview in 1987 to having sexual intercourse with Brown on his desk in his office at Parliament House in Canberra in 1983, and leaving a pair of underwear in an ashtray.

A spokesperson for Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke said while Murray's comments were in "poor taste" they had nothing to do with Brown's ministerial duties.

The Canberra Times reported that Murray said she had never meant for her comments to be made public after being assured by a 60 Minutes producer that they would be edited out of the program.

Brown is notable for initiating a series of television advertisements commencing in 1986 for the American market by the Australian Tourism Commission starring Paul Hogan saying, "I'll slip an extra shrimp on the barbie for you".

[2] In July 1987, Brown entered cabinet with the expanded portfolio of Minister for Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories, which he held until his resignation in January 1988 for misleading the House,[6] in response to a question from Neil Brown (no relation) regarding the assessment of tenders for the Australian Pavilion at Expo '88, which suggested possible impropriety.

Brown was made an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1993 for "service to the Australian parliament, tourism and sport and recreation".