I never liked the one button or touch pad of the rear hatch, should be an interior cable or push button to activate the rear hatch, it would be fairly easy to fabricate, but at 14 years old, my HHR wouldn’t be worth the time to install such a device.
Think of a custom car with shaved door handles and trunk lid… a solenoid or cable like that.

 

OK, well thanks for that!! Makes no sense but there was a fuse in position 11. I pulled it out and now the hatch locks.