[2] He has worked as a public servant, including as a policy advisor for the Prime Minister's Office and as head of the Ministry of Agriculture, and as a property developer.

[6] In December 2019 a private prosecution for fraud was lodged against Brown and Prime Minister Henry Puna, alleging that a government-chartered aircraft had been misused.

[8] In June 2020 Prime Minister Henry Puna announced his intention to stand down in September in order to compete for the role of Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum.

[15][16][17] In early February 2024, Brown advocated a trilateral defence and security co-operation arrangement between the Cook Islands, New Zealand, and Australia.

This proposed agreement would supplement the Cook Islands' existing defence and security arrangements with New Zealand.

[19] In response, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters questioned whether the people of the Cook Islands supported Brown and other politicians' proposal for a separate Cook Islands passport, warning of its implications for the territory's status as an associated state.

Brown responded that the Cook Islands passport proposal would not affect the territory's constitutional relationship with New Zealand.

[20] On 23 December, the office of Foreign Minister Peters clarified that the Cook Islands would not be able to have its own passport, citizenship and United Nations membership without becoming an independent country.