Mr Brownstein moved to the area in 2012 for work and to support his wife’s elderly parents.
A former mayor of the Benalla Rural City, he has spent the majority of his working career in education as a secondary school teacher and principal.
"I’ve got the passion for being involved and trying to see positive change occur for our community," Mr Brownstein said.
When asked about what The Greens would do to help Echuca and Rochester recover from the floods, he said they would "support the appropriate actions of the government, to help the recovery and response to the flood emergency“.
"These floods are hugely devastating to communities, businesses, residents, and the local government has such a vital role to play in that recovery process, and they need proper funding.
"They need the capacity to deliver the services they need, as they will have a huge bill to fix roads, bridges, and restoration of public facilities; it is going to be a massive task.
"As the member for Murray Plains, it would be my task to make that representation to the government to ensure these communities have what they need to recover," he said.
Housing affordability and its impact across Murray Plains is a problem Mr Brownstein sees across the country.
"The Greens plan to have a big build of public and affordable housing, for developers to pay a levy to provide affordable housing as they develop housing estates," he said.
"We are looking to cap the rent rises to keep them manageable because so many people simply can't afford to buy a home, and rental has to be their long-term option."
The Greens have a statewide campaign for no new coal and gas in Victoria, with Mr Brownstein agreeing with the party's plan to achieve 100 per cent renewable energy by 2030.
"Liberal, Labor and Nationals are still proposing to expand the production and exploration for gas, and this is a big issue as we need to move quickly to 100 per cent renewables," he said.
"What is amazing is we have National Party MPs — there's a federal member in the Mallee — promoting nuclear energy, which is the most expensive and dangerous option.
"We don't need nuclear energy, we need to move quickly to 100 per cent renewables and it's absolutely doable."
Mr Brownstein is committed to ensuring that regional students have comparable education opportunities to Melbourne students.
"Public education is vital in our regional areas, providing terrific pathways for students, into tertiary studies and a strong TAFE sector,“ Mr Brownstein said.
The Greens want to instate 100 per cent of the Gonski resource funding model for the start of next year and provide $100 million extra funding for TAFEs.
Mr Brownstein is concerned about the harm poker machines do in communities and would like to see measures taken to reduce this.
"I'd like to see strengthened planning rules that empower local governments to say no to these developments if they don't want them.
"We need a regulator independent of the government and we need to take some pretty strong measures to reduce the harm done.
"I'd be a progressive voice for Murray Plains, representing the community faithfully and with integrity."
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