Video filmed by No Pride in Detention activist shows the parade producer warning a float organiser after a protest at the Labor leader’s media conference

Mardi Gras organisers threatened to ban refugee advocates from Saturday’s parade if they “harassed” or “said something” to the Labor leader, Bill Shorten.

A video filmed by a No Pride in Detention participant shows the parade producer, Anthony Russell, issuing the threat to a float organiser, Ed McMahon.

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The encounter followed a protest by the No Pride in Detention participants at the conclusion of a media conference by the opposition leader and his deputy, Tanya Plibersek, half an hour before the parade’s scheduled start.

Russell, in charge of the parade, said: “If I bring Bill Shorten out here now and one of you people say something to him, you are not in the fucking parade. Do you understand that?”

“So have a chat to your people, you talk to your people right now, OK. You’ve got one more chance. If you don’t, if you can’t act like a normal human being – all in the parade together – then you’re out.”

When McMahon tried to interject, Russell replied: “I don’t care, don’t harass people,” leaning in towards his face. McMahon asks Russell his name, to which he replies “It’s Anthony Russell, I’m the producer of the parade, yeah I can do it,” and walks away.

As Shorten and Plibersek finished speaking earlier, the refugee advocates shouted: “We’re here, we’re queer, refugees are welcome here.” The Labor leaders then weaved their way through the crowd, away from the protesters.

Paul Karp (@Paul_Karp) No Pride in Detention crew are tailing Shorten and Plibersek as they leave their press conference #MardiGras pic.twitter.com/QzlFoVkrZa

After the media conference the parade order was changed, separating the Rainbow Labor and No Pride in Detention floats, which had been scheduled to appear one after the other.

Instead, several floats were interposed between the pair, including Bronnie Takes a Ride, depicting Bronwyn Bishop in a helicopter, and DIY Rainbow, featuring the Sydney signboard activist Danny Lim. The two floats were originally to appear before Rainbow Labor and after No Pride in Detention respectively.

A No Pride float organiser, Amy Thomas, told Guardian Australia the suggestion the float could be removed was “completely unacceptable to us”. “The compromise was that we would let others go in front of us,” she said.

“The marshals were made to hold us back while a couple of floats which came from further along Oxford Street went ahead of us … Obviously they wanted to avoid the embarrassment of the hypocrisy of Bill Shorten and the Labor party’s position on offshore processing.”

Thomas said she was disappointed in the event organisers. “The origins of Mardi Gras were a protest for gay rights and it’s long been a venue for that,” she said.

“It is a situation where you have LGBTQI refugees on Nauru and Manus Island in PNG and in both countries homosexuality is illegal and subject to years of imprisonment. [Both parties] know they’re placing people in that situation. You can’t march on the streets again homophobia and not be questioned on what I say is a selective view on homophobia.”

The Mardi Gras chief executive, Michele Bauer, told Guardian Australia the New South Wales police had reported “an unacceptable level of harassment and offensive comments from the No Pride in Detention float members being directed towards members of the Rainbow Labor float”, including Shorten and Plibersek.

“The level of harassment reported to parade officials, just prior to 12,500 people commencing to march along Oxford Street, meant that tensions were understandably high,” she said.

“The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras strongly believe the No Pride in Detention Float has a very important message to send, and without wanting the police to intervene and remove the float from the parade, a last-minute decision to reshuffle the run order was made,” she said.

“At the time, this was considered the best course of action to ensure both parties were able to march and spread their individual messages to the world while maintaining safety for all marchers.”

Guardian Australia has contacted Shorten’s office for comment.

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This year’s parade was a bipartisan affair, featuring Shorten marching and Malcolm Turnbull as a spectator, the first time the federal leader of one of the two major parties has marched and the first time a sitting prime minister has attended.

A snap poll of 600 respondents by the polling startup Metapoll found more people were more likely to vote for the Liberal party as the result of Turnbull’s attendance (17%) than were less likely to (10%). But most said his decision had no impact on their vote (73%).

The poll found young people between 18 and 24 were particularly in favour of the appearance, with 22% saying it made them more likely to vote Liberal and only 5% saying less likely. By contrast, respondents over 45 were less likely to vote Liberal (19%) than more likely (14%) as a result.

The poll also revealed a gender difference in attitudes, with equal numbers of men favouring the appearance as those opposed (13% each) compared with women, among whom 20% were for and 7% against.