The optimal way is to use The University of Queensland's interface my.UQ using your normal login and the University (not ITEE) provided password and select the "secure" Access Mode.
Once you've logged in there is an excellent help page provided to assist you to read newsgroups.
Another option is to use the ITS VPN service and connect to news.uq.edu.au directly via a newsreader. See http://uqconnect.net/student/vpn for how to connect via the ITS VPN service.
Enjoy.