Penny Wong blasted by renowned gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell for ‘slap in the face’ on LGBTQIA+ rights

Internationally renowned gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has criticised Penny Wong for not using her position as Australia’s Foreign Minister to press for gay rights in the Commonwealth.

The West African nation of Ghana could soon criminalise homosexuality and LGBTQIA advocacy.

Anyone identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer would be punished by up to three years’ imprisonment, if a bill passed last week is ratified by the President.

There would also be a duty to report to the police.

Ghana is a member of the Commonwealth which is headed by King Charles III and represents 56 countries, many of them former British colonies.

The Commonwealth Charter states that it supports and promotes human rights, “tolerance, respect and understanding,” as well as the rule of law, freedom of expression and support for civil society.

It will also host the annual heads of Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda later this year.

Its headquarters are in London, where Senator Wong will visit for the annual AUKMIN talks this week.

When contacted by The Nightly, querying whether Senator Wong would use Australia’s position in the Commonwealth to raise Ghana’s anti-gay-rights law, the Department of Foreign Affairs issued a two-sentence statement through an anonymous spokesperson.

“Australia advocates for the equal rights of LGBTQIA+ persons internationally,” the DFAT spokesperson said.

“Australia regularly engages on human rights issues with the Government of Ghana bilaterally and in multilateral forums.”

In 2023, Penny Wong told the Sydney WorldPride Human Rights Conference that it was “not enough” to accept the world as it is and that those in international relations had to “shape it for the better”.

She also warned that equality could go backwards unless advocates kept their foot on the accelerator.

“Unfortunately, there are a lot of places around the world with laws different to ours. A lot of places around the world, countries, states, who don’t share our approach. But I believe every human being has a right to be free from discrimination, has a right to be who they are, and we need to keep engaging within our community to make sure those values are protected, but also internationally,” she said on WSFM Radio.

Last November, Senator Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed the dumped Labor Cabinet minister Mark Dreyfus as Australia’s Special Envoy for International Human Rights, nominating advocacy for LGBTQIA+ individuals as one of his priorities.

The Commonwealth’s Secretary-General is Ghana’s former foreign minister Shirley Botchwey.

Asked how she would use her position to pressure for human rights for her country’s LGBT+ community, the Secretary-General also deferred to an anonymous spokesperson.

“The Commonwealth Charter sets out the values and principles that all Commonwealth member countries have voluntarily committed to uphold, including respect for human rights, dignity, equality, and non-discrimination on any grounds,” the spokesperson said.

“These commitments remain an important foundation for cooperation and engagement across the Commonwealth. The Secretary-General’s role is to uphold the Charter, encourage constructive dialogue among member countries, and support efforts that advance the Commonwealth’s shared values.”

Peter Tatchell, the internationally renowned gay rights campaigner, has been leading protests in London, alongside the actor Sir Ian Ian McKellen, calling on the Commonwealth and member countries to the LGBT+ community.

He told The Nightly he had hoped for more from Senator Wong, given her position as Australia’s first openly lesbian foreign minister.

“The responses of the Australian government and the Commonwealth are evasive, pathetic and a slap in the face to Ghana’s LGBT+ community. There is not a word of condemnation of the new law in what they said,” he said.

“I am surprised that Penny Wong, Australia’s first lesbian foreign minister, isn’t giving a stronger lead.

“I had hoped she would show her solidarity with LGBT+ Ghanaians by publicly condemning this draconian law as a violation of the Commonwealth Charter.

“The new Commonwealth Secretary-General, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, of Ghana, is silent. By saying and doing nothing, she is colluding with the new law and its persecution of LGBT+ Ghanaians. It’s time that she condemned the legislation as incompatible with Commonwealth values and urged Ghana to scrap the law.

“What is the point of the Commonwealth if countries can defy the Commonwealth Charter’s equality and human rights principles with impunity?

“All member states have signed and pledged to uphold the Charter, yet most of them violate it.”

He said that for 77 years, CHOGM had refused to recognise LGBT+ human rights, or even allow a discussion of the issue.