Govt spending falls 5.6% in June qtr GOVERNMENT spending fell by 5.6 per cent in real terms in the June quarter, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show. The figures were distorted by the transfer of the NSW port assets, worth more than $5 billion, to the private sector during the quarter. Allowing for this effect, government spending was probably up moderately in the quarter, by around 0.5 per cent. That will add about one tenth of a percentage point to growth in gross domestic product (GDP) in the quarter, to be revealed when the Australian Bureau of Statistics publishes the quarterly national accounts on Wednesday. The ports transaction will add to the corresponding private sector component of GDP. As a result, it will have no net impact on economic growth in the quarter. In other data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, exports and imports of goods and services both rose by a fraction above two per cent in real terms. So, the international trade sector will have no significant impact on growth in the quarter. An AAP survey showed economists are predicting a repeat of the March quarter outcome - GDP growth of 0.6 per cent in the quarter and 2.5 per cent through the year. The government spending and trade figures should not have much, if any, impact on those expectations.