Postcard-picture reputation v reality: can the Liberals fight off One Nation and a strong independent on the Mornington Peninsula?

‘It’s this little circle of really rich people – and in the middle we’ve got a whole lot of battlers,’ says the CEO of Southern Peninsula Community Support, Jeremy Maxwell, of the region. Photograph: Christopher Hopkins/The Guardian

For many, the Mornington Peninsula is postcard-picture perfect: the clifftop mansions, the long stretches of sandy shoreline, the wineries and day spas.

But the image couldn’t be further from reality for Jeremy Maxwell.