PLP Senator Jonathan Smith yesterday defended the Government’s record following claims by the Opposition that it was obstructing the Auditor General.Shadow Finance Minister Bob Richards suggested in the House of Assembly on Friday that the Audit Committee was trying to stop Heather Matthews from publishing embarrassing information.But speaking in the Senate yesterday during the motion to adjourn, Sen Smith refuted the allegation, saying: “We all know that it’s a political message. I think the sell by date of that message is long gone.”Sen Smith said that the Government has published thousands of reports and statements for public access, contracts and requests for proposals.“There’s no attempt to hold certain information back,” he said. “This Government is very open about what we are doing.”OBA Senate Leader Michael Dunkley however said that the Auditor General has raised valid concerns.“I have the greatest respect for the Auditor General,” Mr Dunkley said. “Clearly she raised a concern that she would like to see addressed.”The House of Assembly heard on Friday that Mrs Matthews had written to Speaker of the House Stanley Lowe, explaining that she was unable to make her report on Parish Council finances public because the committee, which must review her documents before she submits them, had failed to get a quorum at a recent meeting.Mr Richards said the lack of action on behalf of the committee amounted to a “political obstruction”.On a separate matter, Sen Dunkley questioned the relationship between the police and the parole board, noting recent media reports that criminals had been granted parole without the parole board having access to all the necessary information.“I would have thought that when the first information came out they would have said enough is enough, this is what we are going to do. And now it has happened again,” he said.While Senator David Burt said that Sen Dunkley shouldn’t speak on the issue based on media reports, Mr Dunkley said he had made his own inquiries into the issue.Minister of Justice Kim Wilson said that the parole board bases its decisions on 16 different reports covering all aspects of the individual in question, and that conditions can and often are attached to parole.