Google’s attempts to appease the international community with regards to its collection of sensitive WiFi data don’t seem to have paid off.  Instead, the Attorney-General of Australia, Robert McClelland, announced this weekend that a new investigation has begun.

McClelland indicated that this is not some corporate witch hunt conducted by a few bad-tempered politians.  He said according to Stephen Hutcheon, "I note there has been some complaints voiced, and understandably voiced, by the public in respect to practices that have been reported involving allegations that some information may have been obtained by staff of Google travelling around streets."

So with that matter settled, McClelland then got to the key point: "In light of concerns having been raised by the public, my department thought there were issues of substance that were raised that require police investigation."

And specifically, the Australian Federal Police will be looking into a possible violation of the Telecommunications Interception Act on Google’s part.

Expect to see the company attempt more reputation-related damage control before long, then, and depending on how the investigation goes, we may also see Google forced to defend itself on legal grounds in Australia.